His Strength, His Weakness
by tears-in-rain
Summary: Riven and Musa are finally together. But when Darcy and her mind games threaten to tear them apart both romantically and literally, will they be able to find the strength in their relationship to survive? Sequel to ‘Restless Night and Revelations’
1. Blissful Uncertainty

_This is basically a sequel to my other Riven/Darcy fic, 'Restless Nights and Revelations', but I guess it's not vital that you read that first since this one is pretty straight forward. Basically, all you need to know is that somewhere in the second season, Darcy made a booty call on Riven, and he realized his true feelings about Musa and Darcy came to the shocking revelation that she loved Riven. _

_With my new fic, its set in the third season which I haven't seen (damn living in the southern hemisphere without pay TV) so I'm not even going to try and fit it into the time line. So suffer. The only thing I'm keeping with from the third season is Musa's new hair style. She looks so pretty! She looks more girly which is great because she can still grab a can of kick ass if she needs to. It's so unexpected. Cute but deadly. Like a puppy bomb. I'm not even certain what a puppy bomb is. I hope they're not using real puppies. Okay, I'll stop talking now. _

_Oh yeah, I own nothing except a very cute cat. Meow!_

* * *

Riven was not very good boyfriend material, he knew that. He knew he was never going to be like the rest of his friends, with their romantic, gushy acts of love. The very thought of being like that made him want to gag. He was rude, insensitive and inconsiderate. His ego and his ambition made him impossible to deal with at times, and he refused to express his feelings too deeply.

Which is why he had absolutely no idea why Musa would want anything to do with him?

Riven pondered the thought as he watched the Princess make her way though the CD shore. She'd flick through the endless racks of CD's, chewing on her lower lip and her eyebrows frowned in deep thought. When she'd come across something that grabbed her attention, she'd pull the disc out and read over the song list. If it took her fancy, she added it to the growing number of CD's she had already decided to purchase. If not, it was returned to the rack to wait for a less selective consumer.

She was adorable, Riven admitted to himself as she rejected yet another CD. She always looked absolutely stunning, but she never had to resort to those skimpy pieces of material her fiends liked to call clothes. He loved the way she could take his breath way by just wearing baggy jeans and some kind of funky top. Her hair had grown longer over the summer, but she still wore it in her trademark pigtails. Her longer hair made her appear more girly and softer looking, but Riven and his jaw knew otherwise. She was like some kind of rose; amazingly beautiful, but she had thorns sharp enough to cut him if she wanted to. He loved her strength. Hell, he loved her.

And now, he had her.

The two of them had been tip toeing around a relationship for the last two years, and finally, in Rivens' senior year, they had actually started to cross that line between friendship and dating. It wasn't the smoothest transition, no doubt about that. Musa was so shy and he was stubborn as a mule, but they had eventually gotten to a stage where they felt comfortable being affectionate to one another.

Most of the time.

"How many CD's do you really need?" he asked as she looked through the collection she had obtained. Riven had seen Musa's music collection, and he didn't think her CD rack back at Alfea could support the five new CD's she planned to buy.

"You're asking the wrong girl that question," Musa replied, not looking up from her CD's. "That would be like asking Stella how many outfits one should have in their wardrobe. You sure you don't want anything here?"

"I'm sure."

"What about this one?" Musa asked, grabbing a CD out of the display at random. Riven took the CD off her, and raised one eyebrow as he looked at the front cover.

"'Tunes from the Highland Aisles'?" he read.

"I think you'll like it. It has the nose flute in it. A very difficult instrument to master," Musa said in a surprisingly serious tone, stepping past him to make her way to the front counter to pay for her purchases and to avoid him seeing her grin. Riven stared at the CD in his hand for a moment, before returning it to where Musa grabbed it from.

Nose flute? She had to kidding, right?

Once Musa had made her contribution to the ever growing mountain of CD's she had in her room, the pair decided they had better be getting home if they wanted to have their homework finished by tomorrow, and headed off to where Riven had parked his bike. Tune was off with the other pixies, which Riven was kind of thankful for. He didn't like her reminding everyone just how rude he was, especially since her and Musa had a special bond. One little comment from that pixie could ruin everything.

"You know, Alfea's having formal dinner soon," Musa said softly, not looking up at Riven. "Miss Du Four is putting it on so we can learn how to perform properly at a formal function."

"So like some kind of exam with food?"

"Pretty much," Musa laughed, suddenly very interested in her shoes. "We're supposed to find a date to escort us. I was . . . um . . . I was wondering if you, I dunno, if you wanted to go? I mean, you don't have to if you don't want to. I understand. I'll – "

Musa was suddenly cut off by Riven wrapping his arms around her waist and pulling her around so she was facing him. Musa felt her pulse quicken and her mouth go dry as he dropped his head so his forehead was resting on hers. His violet eyes fixed on her navy ones, and she felt her knees start to go weak.

"I'll only go if I'm your date," he told her firmly, but his eyes were soft and loving.

"Um . . . Y-yeah. I was h-hoping . . . Um, yes," Musa stammered breathlessly. She felt her cheeks start the flush, and a rather foolish smile started to spread across her face. He always threw her for a loop when he did something like that.

"Good, cause I'd have to eradicate anyone else who tried to 'escort' you," he smirked somewhat smugly, continuing on their way. He did not, however, remove his arm from around her waist. He had discovered rather early on in their relationship how greatly these little displays of affection affected her, and although it wasn't exactly the easiest thing from him to do (especially when they were in public) he did love her reaction. Plus, he figured it would discourage her checking out other possible suitors.

He was certain of his feelings for her, but he still didn't understand what she might see in him. That was probably why he had never told her he loved her, despite the fact that he had discovered that particular emotion for her over a year ago. He still didn't think he was worthy of her, and he was protecting himself from getting hurt. He couldn't stand the thought of her leaving him, even if he knew how selfish he was to hope that would never happen.

Plus Riven didn't want to put her in any danger.

Although he was certain that the Trix Sisters were probably trapped in the Realm of Realix for eternity, it still made him sick to his stomach to think that one day Darcy may get out and come after Musa. Darcy would never let Riven get away from his betrayal to her from choosing Musa over her, and she was defiantly the type of person who would hold a grudge. When her and her sisters had attacked them at the Resort Realm, she had had every intention to obliterate him, and he couldn't drag Musa into that.

But he had been pulled towards Musa by an overpowering force, and now that Darcy was out of the way, he had let his and Musa's relationship flourish. And so far, he saw no down side to it. She still affected him in so many ways it was ridiculous. His entire body tingled as she wrapped her arms tightly around him from behind as he started up the engine to his levi bike, and he got goose bumps from her hot breath brushing against his neck.

She was amazing. That was all there was to it.

"I actually had a good time this afternoon," Musa admitted as she climbed off the bike when they got to the gates of Alfea. Riven really didn't feel like going inside the school grounds. He always felt uneasy with the way Grisenlda would watch him like a hawk whenever he was at Alfea.

"Oh thanks," Riven _huff_ed sarcastically.

"Oh come on," Musa grinned cheekily. "Going shopping isn't exactly you're favorite pass time. So, we had our doubts on wither or not you'd be very good company is all."

"We?"

"Me and my girls."

"Figures."

"Didn't you have a good time?"

Riven shrugged in a very indifferent manner. "The company wasn't bad."

Despite his uninterested tone, Musa beamed. She had started to understand Rivens behavior, and knew that what he said was only a fraction of what he really meant. And once she had gotten that straightened out, she had gotten more confident with their relationship.

"You were more bearable than I had thought too," she teased, tapping her foot softly on his. "I'll catch you later, ay?'

"Yeah, yeah," Riven nodded. Musa turned to leave, but Riven swiftly delayed her departure. "You've forgotten something, pixie."

"Fairy," Musa corrected with a hard look, but she did move closer to have a look at the bike. "Nope, looks like you were wrong again. I've got everything"

"First of all, I'm not always right, but I'm_ never_ wrong. And second, you forgot this," Riven told her, leaning over and pressing his lips against hers. Musa jumped, not really expecting this kind of farewell, but quickly recovered and warmed to it. There was no way she was ever going to get tried of doing this to him.

The sound of someone sniggering reached their ears, and it was quickly followed by whistling and catcalls from the rest of the Winx Club. Musa cheeks started to heat up and she felt Riven smirk against her mouth as he pulled her in closer to deepen the kiss. If her friends wanted to taunt them about something like this, he was always at least going to make it worthwhile.

Musa was flushed and a bit disheveled when the finally parted, and he had almost dropped the bike on his leg in the process of getting as close as possible to her, but both were willing to make those sacrifices.

"Now, aren't you glad you didn't forget that?" Riven smirked smugly.

"I could have survived without it if I needed to," Musa told him in an offhanded tone of voice, calmly examining her fingernails.

"Okay, you can pick it up later if you want," Riven shrugged, and suddenly Musa didn't find her fingernails that interesting.

"I think I might just do that," she grinned, giving him a sly look. She was rewarded with one of his rare (but none the less totally dreamy) smiles.

"Looking forward to it," he smiled, before raising his voice so that the five fairies hiding on the other side of the gate could hear him. "Bye girls!"

A fresh round of giggling and inaudible whispering erupted from some hidden place behind the walls for a moment, before Stella's cheery voice loudly answered, "Bye Riven!"

"Next time don't spend all your money on CD's," Riven ordered Musa, pulling on his helmet. Musa held onto hers, seeing as these trips on Rivens bike was becoming a more and more common.

"Why?"

"So you can afford to buy some new friends," he teased, kicking over the engine and riding off before she could hit him. As Musa watched him ride off, she couldn't suppress the small waves of delight that surged through her body.

After years of waiting, she finally had the man she had always wanted.

After allowing her self one brief moment to truly relish in that fact, Musa turned and headed into Alfea, ready to face her friends and their deluge of questions. And, with a small satisfied smile, she walked through Alfea's front gates.

* * *

Not far from the gate, hidden amongst the tree line, a pair of golden eyes watched the display before her with a rather surprising level of detachment. She had contemplated this moment for the last few months, and had honestly never thought she'd be so removed from the whole thing. Here was the man she both loved and hated with equal passion, doting on that nauseatingly perky Princess. Was there anything more revolting? Yet she had watched the whole scene with something that could only be faintly call morbid interest.

The three Trix Sisters were one of the most dangerous forces in the universe, both as a group and on an individual level. The youngest of the three, Stormy, was defiantly not someone you wanted to get one your bad side. She was impulsive and hot-blooded, which was a bit of a flaw in itself. Icy was the best suited for the role of leader, as she had a brilliant mind and talent for seeing the bigger picture. But her unquenchable desire for domination tended to make her impatient, and she had a tendency to try and move things too quickly.

Darcy, on the other hand, was a perfectionist. She was cold-blooded and thorough, which made her all the more deadly. She'd rather take her time observing and problem before rushing into anything. Better to work through everything before hand than paying for it later. She still believed the Trix had taken far too long in getting to Alfea with the Army of Decay. If they had arrived earlier, there was a chance Bloom would have gotten there too late. She also believed that, with time, she could have solved the riddle to get the codex from Red Fountain if Icy hadn't tried to force her to try her theory. There was merit to her thinking, though her sisters always seemed to find it too hesitant.

But with her newest plan for bedlam, Darcy had been allowed all the time in the world to observe her scheme from every possible angle. It was the only thing she had on her mind while caged in that Realm. Well, that and getting out of that place. And now that she was free, she was going to stop at nothing to seek her revenge.

Her target; Riven.

And, just for the fun of it, she was going to drag his little princess into the havoc as well. Riven's feeling for Musa had given him the strength to refuse her once, but after months of trying to find the best way to destroy him, Darcy had concluded that those feelings would also be his weakness. And she planned to use that information to her advantage. Her plans were set, each part checked countless times for any possible flaws, and now she was finally ready to put in into movement.

The only thing she hadn't decided on was wither Riven was going to be her victim, or her prize. She knew of his talent and his potential, and she was still unnervingly attached to him, but that didn't mean she was going to over look his betrayal. She figured she'd make him suffer, then swoop in and take him while he was at his lowest. That would satisfy all her desires.

Her eyes narrowed as she watched those loser fairies crowd around Musa to suck every drop of information out of her like vampires. That musical misfit looked so happy Darcy wanted to be sick. But then a malicious sneered spread across her lips as she thought of all the horrible things she had planned for that pathetic princess.

"Enjoy it while you can, fairy, because it's not going to last," Darcy hissed, vanishing into the blackness of the forest.

* * *

_TBC_


	2. There’s No Harm in Talking, Is There?

_Okay, enough fluff, lets get some conflict and drama going. Bring on the sinful delights!_

_And thanks to all al those replied. Wow, you guys really jumped on that one. I just posted it to make sure it went up (it didn't work the first time) and then I had to do those annoying things like sleeping and working before I had a chance to upload the next few chapters and – **BAM!** – you guys pounced. Good on ya. I'll give you guys what you want. _

* * *

Dinner at Red Fountain had been rather uneventful that night, or at least as uneventful as dinner at a school for male adolescence could be. There had been no food fights or major messes, which the cleaners were extremely grateful for (it had been spaghetti night, a dreaded night for the cleaning staff), there were no practical jokes and no one had tried to smash someone else's face in. There were of course a few lapses in suitable behavior for the futures heroes, such as Timmy actually making a comment funny enough to cause Sky's dinner to come out his nose, but nothing too damaging to the schools reputation, although the same couldn't be said about the reputation and ego of the Prince of Eraklyon.

Riven was in surprisingly good spirits as he made his way back to his room from the shower block. He only threatened to pummel two freshmen if they didn't move out of his way, and he didn't think he would mutilate Brandon like he had promised at dinner, though he was never going to sit next to the squire again whenever they had spaghetti. Riven had no idea how he did it, but Brandon always managed to get spaghetti sauce all over him self and anyone else in a five meter radius. Thus, the shower.

"I thought you had drowned yourself," Helia commented as Riven entered their room, not looking up from the note book in his hand.

"I was trying to use up all your hot water."

"Ah."

A small grin tugged at Rivens lips. While the idea of a pacifist and an arrogant warrior as roommates seemed doomed from the very start, Riven had found that he actually liked Helia as a roommate. He was very grounded and had brought Riven down from his towering rages more than once. He was quiet, and didn't feel the need to fill their silence with pointless chatter, like the other guys did. The only thing Riven had a problem with was Helias mess. That didn't mean Rivens belongings where immaculate, he was just as messy as any male his age, but he was rather territorial.

"Huh, that's odd," Riven muttered, wiping the water of his bare chest that had dripped from his still damp hair.

"What's odd?"

"I swear I left my bed here," Riven said, giving Helia a hard look. Helia's clothes, shoes and what looked like several thousand note books littered Rivens bed, a clear result of Helia trying to get organized and becoming side tracked.

"Oh yeah. Sorry," Helia apologized, getting up and grabbing the small mountain of clothes. He didn't try to sort in, but rather dropped the pile at the foot of his bed for him to go through at a later date. He did, however, gather the note books and stacked them neatly on his desk. "I was trying to get put some of my work into storage, but I came across a few poems I thought I had lost. Some of them are really good."

"Fascinating," Riven said with a vast lack of enthusiasm. "Do you think you've got enough note books? Some environmentalist you are. You're all 'save the trees' and you've got a whole forest worth of paper there."

Helia sighed. This wasn't the first time they had had this discussion. "It's recycled paper."

"You can keep telling me that till you're blue in the face but it still doesn't change the fact that it's paper and paper comes from trees. If you weren't such a technophobe you'd be saving more trees, not killing them."

"You have no idea what you're talking about. The electricity needed to power that technology does more damage to the environment that cutting down a few trees does."

"So you admit it. Tree killer," Riven accused.

"Ignorant jerk," Helia shot back with a grin. It may not have been the first time they had had this discussion, but it was one they both loved to argue. Helia had never been one to pick verbal fights just for the sake of quarreling before he came to Red Fountain, but he had come to enjoy this playful banter he and Riven participated in. It was the only real way Riven could communicate with people, and it had sharpened Helia's mind and toughed his skin, something he needed if he was going to survive Red Fountain.

"I think I'm just gonna crash," Riven yawned, drying his hair.

"You do that," Helia told him, grabbing his towel. "I'm going to have a shower."

"You do that," Riven mocked, throwing his towel over his head and rubbing his hair to try and get it to dry faster. "If there's no hot water, don't blame me."

"I'll just get a bucket of water and throw it over you while you sleep," Helia said, and Riven heard him leave, shutting the door firmly behind him. A few seconds later Riven heard the door open again, and someone entered the room.

"That was a fast shower," Riven commented, his head still covered by the towel. When he got no answer, Riven decided to take another stab. "Don't you need to wash your hair?"

"Are you going to help me wash it?" the person replied, and Riven jumped, ripping the towel off his head.

"Darcy?"

"Miss me?" the witch asked a wicked smile on her face. She hadn't changed much. Clad all in purple, her long brownish gold hair floating just off the ground and her golden eyes were smoldering. Riven felt a strange feeling swell in his stomach, but wither it was fear or desire he couldn't be sure.

"What are you doing here?"

"Just dropping in, making sure you remember I'm alive," she told him, her eyes skating over his body in a way that made him feel rather violated. All he wore was a pair of baggy tracksuit pants, but at least it was more than the boxers he had been wearing the last time she had snuck into his room. "You're looking well. Very well, in fact."

"Get out of here, witch," Riven snarled.

"That's not very polite," Darcy scolded, taking a seat on the end of his bed. "I'll be civil if you'll be."

"What do you want, Darcy?" Riven asked in a much calmer voice. The initial shock of her appearing in his room had worn off, and he had been able to understand Darcy more than his friends could. He had known Darcy on a more personal level, and he could actually talk to her if she was on her own. When she was with her sisters was a completely different situation, but when she was by herself he didn't feel as intimidated or threatened by her. She wasn't a member of the Trix, the most dreaded threesome in the universe; she was Darcy, a girl he used to date.

"Just to see how you are."

"Don't give me that crap. The only time you've given a damn about me is when you want something. Now tell me what you want or get out," Riven demanded. He expected that she was going to attacking with her powers for that comment, but all she did was smile.

"You don't seem pleased to see me."

"Really? I wonder why? Maybe it has something to do with the fact that the last few times I've seen you you've tried to kill me."

"Oh, that was nothing personal."

"I don't think you can get anymore personal than trying to kill someone."

"Toughen up, Riven. Crying about it now isn't going to change anything."

"How did you get out of that Realm?"

"Not easily," Darcy answered simply, a slight look of disgust on her face. In truth, her and her sisters' escape for the Realm of Realix was more draining than any of them had imagined. They had to use all their Gloomix in order to break through the barrier, draining it to a point where it could not be recovered.

And even that hadn't been enough. It had taken a whole month before the Trix's power returned to them after all their efforts, and even longer before Darcy felt strong enough to put her plan into action. There were still times when she felt her arms shaking from their feebleness, and she'd become exhausted much more easily.

But enough small talk. She had come here for a purpose, and this conversation about the past was not leading her to where she wanted them to be. It was time to get down to business.

"I see you have a new girlfriend," she noted calmly, and Rivens body went numb. She knew about Musa. What if Darcy went after her because of their relationship? He would die if Musa got hurt because of him and his mistakes.

"If you even try and – "

"Save it Riven," Darcy interrupted. "Do you think I give a damn how you entertain yourself? Go ahead, have your fun with that loser, see if I care. I just was wondering if you were satisfied with her."

Riven tensed. The wrong answer could be fatal. If he said yes, she might attack him, or worse go after Musa. If he said no, she could see through his lie or go and tell Musa what he said. But the only thing that was certain was she wasn't going to leave until he gave her what she wanted.

"Yes. I'm very happy."

"That's not what I asked," she told him in that same composed tone. "I asked wither she satisfies you. Don't ever forget I know you, Riven, and I know what you need. Does this princess offer you that?"

Riven suddenly felt uncomfortable. He didn't what to be having this conversation with anyone, let alone his ex, but he knew that she was going to get it out of him, one way or the other.

"She's, um, not ready."

"Strange. I don't remember you having that same hesitation. And me neither for that matter. What is it with those frigged fairies? They have no concept of fun. Why don't you go out and get yourself a real woman?"

"Like you?"

"Riven, you lost your chance with me and I am not going to hang around waiting for you to change your mind again if that's what you're thinking," she told him sternly.

"So then why are you here? Surely this isn't just a social call."

"Like I said, just making sure you remember I'm alive. I can't stand the way those fairies and their loser boyfriends strut through life like there isn't a care in the world. Did they honestly just forget about us?"

"We certainly tried."

"Be nice, Riven," Darcy warned, giving him a hard look. She wasn't going to let him forget just who she was, but attacking him was not her best strategic move at the moment. That would come later.

"So, you're here because you're feeling forgotten?" Riven mused with mocking innocence. "I didn't know you valued us so much Darcy. I'm touched. Really, and I'm sure the others will be too."

"So you're going to tell them about this little meeting? That's interesting."

"What's interesting?"

"You trust them that much? Oh, puppy dog, how very sweet. But, I've got to ask; do they trust you? I mean, I'm sure they're all so disgustingly noble they're willing to over look the past, but the fact is you did betray them all while we were together."

"You had me under a spell," Riven reminded her, but the doubts were already in his mind. What if his friends really didn't trust him after all? Or worse, what if Musa didn't?

"You make it sound like I had you doing things you'd never do if you weren't spelled. All I did was loosen your inhibitions and unleash that brilliant potential you had. I never added anything to you, if that's what you're thinking. That side of you was already within you restrained by your idea of what's wrong and right."

Riven suddenly felt nauseous. He had always taken comfort in the idea that his actions during his relationship with Darcy were a direct result of her will. But he could now see the possibility that he could have been acting out of a deeper level of his own.

"Go away, Darcy," he ordered, but it lacked the firmness he had had before.

"Why? Are you hearing something you don't want to admit to? Oh Riven, if you have this much mistrust in your self, what chance do your friends have? You've tried so hard to regain their trust, and one small slip backwards could ruin everything. A small slip like say, oh I don't know, associating with the enemy," Darcy smiled maliciously.

"You witch," Riven snarled. She had him trapped. If he went to the others about this meeting, he could lose their trust. Worse, he could lose Musa. He could still remember the hurt in her eyes whenever she saw him and Darcy together, and he knew she still got uncomfortable whenever someone brought up his ex around her. He couldn't put her through that doubt again. He just couldn't loose her.

"Oh, would you relax. We're just talking," Darcy reminded him, getting to her feet and moving closer to him. Riven tried to step away from her, but found himself backed up against the wall. And still Darcy advance till her body lightly brushed against his and her face was inches from his. "There's no harm in talking, is there?"

"Darcy," Riven breathed nervously. He suddenly found it hard to swallow as her scent filled his senses, bring to surface so many memories he had never been able to truly forget.

"If you ever get bored with that fairy, come find me and we'll have some fun," she told him seductively, stretching up and pressing her lips to his cheek. Rivens heart slammed against his ribcage at the contact, and he felt as though his legs where going to fold underneath him.

And then, with one last hungry look that Riven knew was going to plague his thoughts later, Darcy turned and stepped through the shadows in the corner of his room to some unknown place.

Trembling, Riven sunk to the ground. That had not just happen.

* * *

_TBC_


	3. Sweet Dreams

_Oh my god. I like tried forever to get these next few chapters up and finally its working for me. I was going out of my mind because it just wasn't uploading and it consumed my life. I was doing it at work when I should have been, well working. But it's just sitting in front of a computer anyways. Amounts to the same thing. Anyways, go! Read! Enjoy! (hopefully) _

* * *

"Finish!" Musa announced to Techna, thrusting her paper in the air as proof. Her roommate calmly observed the elevated paper from her spot on her bed, typing on her computer as she waited for Musa to finish so she could turn off the light and go to sleep.

"You should have completed your homework hours ago," Techna informed her as the musical fairy began packing away her notes so she could find them all again in the morning.

"And miss out taking on Layla in hallway hockey? No way!" Musa grinned, taking her hair out of their pigtails and climbing under her covers. Her raised voice had managed to wake Tune, who sat up in her bed with a disapproving look.

"It's inconsiderate and rude to be so loud while others are trying to sleep," Tune scolded as politely as she could. But Musa's mood couldn't be dampened by a simple telling off.

"Sorry Tune, but I did beat Layla so it was worth it," Musa beamed sweetly. Tune _huff_ed and rolled back over in her bed, muttering something about bad sportsmanship, making Musa's smile widen.

"You've been in an extraordinary good mood the last few days," Techna noted, looking up from the screen before her. She had never seen Musa stay this happy for such a long period of time. Something would usually happen, usually some comment by Riven, which would drop the cheerful fairy's mood, though it was never long before Musa was her usual smiling self. But recently, Musa's delightful disposition had been increasing with each and every passing day.

"So what if I am?" Musa said quietly, suddenly feeling bashful.

"I'm not saying that there's anything wrong with it. It's just that you tend to be a bit of an emotional rollercoaster, and I'm worried that you might come off this emotional high into a serious low."

"I appreciate your concern Tech, but I'll be fine. I've just been more happy than I have been in years, is all. It's nothing to get all worked up about."

"I'm just trying to look out for you. Although you statistically have a high possibility for success, you do have to admit that you and Riven don't exactly have the desirable track record."

"What makes you think this has anything to do with Riven?"

Techna gave Musa a hard look. "Musa, please. Don't think you're fooling anyone, especially your best friends. We all know why you've been so cheerful, and we know you're the reason Rivens been more approachable recently. We just want to make sure that you're aware that this high may not last. Like I said, you two don't have the best history."

"Well, no offence, but neither did you and Timmy till recently," Musa pointed out. "You were so awkward around each other for ages, but you guys are fine now. And it's the same thing with Bloom and Sky, and Stella and Brandon. Sky's engagement to Desparo isn't exactly part of a perfect relationship history, now is it? And that whole deal with the swapping of identities isn't something you'd normally find in romance tales. So you can't dis Riven just because things were a little complicated before."

"Such as him going out with Darcy," Techna reminded her, and then instantly regretted her words when Musa glared angrily at her. "I'm sorry. That was uncalled for."

"I'll say," Musa agreed.

"We just don't want to see you get hurt," Techna said softly.

Musa sighed. Although she sometimes wished her friends would stay out of her relationship with Riven (particularly a certain Princess of Solaria), she could blame them for caring. That's what friends were for, and she wouldn't trade them for all the privacy in the universe.

"I know, and I dig that you guy are watchin' my back, but I honestly believe that this time things are different. Riven and I are getting along, and I'm slowly getting him to open up to me. I don't see how things could go wrong. It's just right, I know it."

"Yes well, you also thought you knew how you felt about Riven last year, and yet you still got a crush on Jared."

"That was nothing," Musa told her, physically flinching. She had never told Riven about her date with Jared, mainly because she didn't want to hurt him, but also because she didn't Riven to hurt Jared. She and Jared were still friends after all, and he dropped his crush on her to go out with a fairy he hooked up with at prom last year.

"Just be careful," Techna pleaded, shutting off her computer.

"Okay. But, you gotta chillax. Me and Riven are fine," Musa assured her friend, slipping down into her bed. "Night Tech."

"Goodnight Musa," Techna replied, switching off the light and plunging the room into total darkness.

And outside the girls' dorm, perched on the thick branch of one of the trees surrounding the building, a figure stood waiting for the fairy's to fall asleep. When the final light switched off, she gathered her power and slowly released it so as not to alert her victim.

"Sweet dreams," she whispered to the night, and with a slight chuckle, vanished.

* * *

**Dreaming **

_Musa loved dreaming about Riven. Her dreams were completely private, even from Riven, and only in that kind of privacy could she indulge in thrills she would never be allowed in reality. When she was awake, Musas' shy, insecure side made her rather hesitant around Riven at times, and his stubbornness could be so frustrating that there was no way he would behave the way she wanted him to. _

_But in dreamland, there were no such restraints. Here, she could be as bold as she wanted without the fear of rejection, and Riven was warm, charming and not a jerk. It was completely innocent, but with a dash of devilish delight. _

_As a fairy from Harmonic Nebular, Musas' tended not to dream in words. Instead, her dreams were over scored by music much like an orchestra may accompany a ballet; though even in her dreams she could rarely get Riven to dance. When she dreamed of Riven, they were usually accompanied by wind instruments such as flutes and pan pipes, together with a soft selection of strings. Everything was basked in a either a soft golden or a pale red light, making Riven look absolutely delicious._

_And he tasted just as good as he looked, Musa thought to herself as Riven softly kissed her while his hands lightly caressed her skin. Her fingertips gentle traced the thin barrier that was his shirt, knowing that if she wanted to she could discover exactly what the skin underneath felt like._

"_Musa," he breathed, his voice husky and heavy with passion, sending shivers of delight down her spin. There was no way he would be as gentle and affectionate in reality, so she was going to enjoy this fantasy while it lasted._

"_Oh Riven," she panted as he cupped her face with his hands before tenderly kissing her again. That was one part of her dream that was consistent with reality; he was such a good kisser. _

_Normally her dreams of Riven would continue on like this until morning, when she would awake feeling very content with herself, but tonight something was different, and her dream started to take a turn towards something nightmarish._

_The pale red light suddenly became deeper, flooding her mind with a bloody tinge. The golden light vanished completely, and was replaced with a harsh purple colour. The soft string instruments suddenly exploded forth with an ugly, scratchy screech that almost sounded electrical, drowning out the wind section. _

_But that wasn't all that changed. _

_As the lighting and music changed, Riven simultaneously kissed her hard on the mouth, all gentleness forgotten. His body thrust against hers, and his hands were all over her. Musa started to panic slightly as Riven started to instigate something she knew she wasn't ready for. But he continued to ravish her. _

_But then, just as suddenly as it changed, everything went back to how it was originally. The red light faded, and the purple vanished completely as the gold returned. The music changed back into its original score, and Riven was no longer pressed so forcefully against her._

"_You're so beautiful," he whispered, his hand delicately stroking her cheek. The distance between their bodies had widen back to where they had been before the change, and slowly the panic and fear Musa had felt started to disappear. _

_She was just getting back to the stage where she was enjoying the dream, when it happened again. The lights darkened and the music blasted harshly, making Musas' heart pound in fear. _

_One of Rivens' hands drug into her flesh, while the other clawed desperately at her clothes. He forced her close to him, his eyes burning with an animal like delight. Musa struggled to get free for his embrace, but his hold on her was too strong. _

"_Riven," she gasped as he bit into her neck with a deep, throaty growl. Even in her dreams, Musa could never remember being scared like this before. _

_And then, just like before, the light became brighter and the music softer. Riven was holding her tenderly in his arms, his face buried in her hair. Musa was trembling violently and her heart raced, and although at the moment she felt comforted and safe in his arms, she wanted to get away incase that changed again._

"_What's wrong?" Riven asked in a voice no more than a whisper. He softly cupped her face and lifted it until she was looking at him. His violet eyes were soft and gentle, staring at her with a loving tenderness. _

_Musa felt her fear slipping away as she looked into those eyes._

"_Nothing," she smiled. "I've got you."_

"_You certainly do," he assured her, but even as he spoke, the lights started to darken. _

_It was not as a sudden change as it had been before. Instead, it engulfed the pair at a much slower pace, and Musa could see the effect this transaction had on Rivens face. His eyes became chillingly hard, but burned with a terrible, insatiable hunger. His lips pulled back into a horrible sneer and his grip on her became tighter. _

_It was then that Musa noticed she was becoming distant from the whole situation. Like a story in third person, Musa found herself looking in on herself in Rivens arms. She saw Rivens desire and her fear, but knew she was powerless to stop it. But the Musa in his arms didn't seem like she wanted it to stop. Her eyes started to glow with that same hunger, and she grabbed Rivens face, forcing her mouth on his and pressing her body up in an almost desperate manner. _

"_What are you doing?!" Musa shouted, but the two were too enthralled in each other to notice her. The strings continued to wail, and the deep purple light started to pulsate._

_It was in this pulsating light that the Musa in Rivens arms started to morph into another. Her hair fell loose from their pigtails and grew longer. Her clothes became closer fitting, and her eyes flashed gold. Musa felt sick as she watched her passionately make out with Musa's boyfriend. _

"_Darcy," Riven gasped, his voice throbbing with desire. Golden eyes locked on navy ones, and a malicious smile spread across Darcy's face as she bit down on Rivens neck. Riven flinched and groaned loudly in pure pleasure._

"_He's mine," Darcy growled, and with one clean movement she ripped his shirt in two. Her nails dug into his back, leaving long, red scratches as he pulled desperately at her clothes. _

"_Riven!" Musa shouted, her eyes filling with tears, but he was too engrossed with Darcy for him to respond. "Riven! Stop it!"_

"_What's the point fairy?" Darcy challenged, her eyes smothering. The purple light started pulsating brighter, leeching away Musas' ability to see. But that didn't mean she was going to give up._

"_Riven! Riven, please!" _

"_I don't think so," he answered as it became impossible to see. "I'm with Darcy now."_

_Musas' body went numb as that familiar phrase echoed around her mind along with Darcy's wicked laugh. And with that, Musa woke up._

**End Dream **

* * *

Riven knew it was a mistake to go to sleep thinking about Darcy.

After she had snuck into his room, he hadn't been able to get her out of his head. The way she looked at him, the way she moved, that sweet, inviting way she smelt. It was all too much. He tried desperately to turn his thoughts towards Musa, but they always started to stray back to the witch.

It was like she had infected him with herself, and that only got worse when he went to sleep.

Memories of everything they had done together came flooding back to him. They had tormented so many students' at all three schools together, and Riven knew that some of them still avoided him. That witch Mirta usually fled whenever she saw him coming. Plus there was that whole thing with him spying on his friends and passing the information on to Darcy and her sisters. His part in their plans had almost killed Bloom on more than one occasion, and had of course endangered the entire universe.

And then there were the activities they had gotten up to when the two of them were alone. His friends had never asked for any real details on his and Darcy's relationship, but he was pretty sure that they suspected that it had gone past what was normally in fairy tales. With Darcy's experience and her dark magic, she had been able to conjure erotic situations that most teenage boys only dreamed about. She was bold, dominating and she could multiply herself, and every single one of them had replayed themselves to Riven while she slept.

Riven had woken with a jerk, trembling and covered in sweat. Panting, Riven tried to calm himself down as his heart pounded, but his dreams, or rather memories, kept running through his brain. Helia was still asleep, and the suns were faintly starting to rise.

"Damn you Darcy," he hissed through clenched teeth, kicking his sweaty sheets off him. He shouldn't be thinking like this. He had Musa for crying out loud. He had a girlfriend and yet he was dreaming about his ex. And that was not a good place to be stuck in.

With a frustrated sigh, Riven got up and grabbed his towel off the back of the chair he had hung it on the night before. He needed another shower, and this time he'd leave Helia all the hot water.

* * *

_TBC_


	4. Trouble

_Hmm, I just realized there's a lot of talk and references to sex in this fic. I mean, don't get me wrong, I'm not a total idiot. I knew it was there people. And I honestly tried to keep clean, but I kinda had the idea that that was all Darcy and Riven's relationship is. I dunno, I just kinda thought it needed to explain or something. I tried to make it as innocent as possible, but I guess you really can't do that when you're taking about Darcy. Having said all that there's a lusty little scene with Darcy and Riven coming up. Go figure.

* * *

_

"Why didn't you warn me about this?" Riven growled to Musa one afternoon about a fortnight later. The fairy looked up at him, an un-amused expression on her flawless face.

"If I had told you before hand do you think you would have agreed to do this?"

Riven shrugged. "You never know."

"Actually Riven, I do."

Any vindictive reply he might have had was cut off by Miss Du Four clapping her hands together sharply, getting the attention of all her students from Alfea that were in the room and their escorts.

"All right now class, we're going to take it all from the top!" she told them crisply, striding across the room to her partner, her heels clicking loudly on the wooden floor boards. Like a woman on a mission, she firmly struck the stance for the beginning of the dance with Professor Avalon, her look determined. "Music please, Wizgiz."

As the little man started the music, the students quickly got themselves into position for the dance they were being forced to learn for the girls formal dinner. It was a rather archaic dance that started with the partners facing the same direction, the man behind and slightly to one side of the woman. Both arms were slightly elevated and their hands holding. That was the easy part. After that, there were a thousand small, quick steps and changing of directions that Riven found impossible.

"You'd dance better if you weren't so stiff," Musa told him when they were at the point in the dance where they both face each other.

"You know I'm not good at this," he hissed though clenched teeth, trying not to trip over his own feet.

"I'm just trying to help," Musa said somewhat coldly.

Musa was not in a good mood. For the last two weeks, her sleep had been disturbed by her dreams of Riven with Darcy and her exhausted state was making her rather irritable. And what was even more annoying was that her dreams were beginning to plague her thoughts even while she was awake, and it was being to make her doubt her relationship with Riven.

She didn't know how far Riven had gone with Darcy, and she wasn't sure if she really wanted to know. But it did make her wonder if Riven was happy with the relationship he had with her. What if he got bored and started looking at other girls? Although she liked Riven, she could never really picture him as being someone who was completely honest. It was part of the appeal, but it was also making her rather paranoid.

For example, while the dance lesson was stopped while Miss Du Four taught them the next part of the dance, it sort of looked like Riven was checking out Priscilla as she tied her shoelace.

'No,' Musa thought to herself as she shook her head and tried to clear her thoughts. 'Riven wouldn't do that to me.'

But she couldn't stop the wave of anger that shot through her when Priscilla gave Riven a small smile when they got ready to begin the dance again. Damn those dreams! If only she was able to get some sleep at night instead of dreaming of Riven and Darcy. She wasn't aware that Riven was suffering the same way from similar dreams and lack of sleep, making his already short temper even shorter.

"Why do we have to dance?" he raged as he and Musa strolled around the grounds of Alfea. The formal dinner rehearsal had finished for the day, and most of the Winx Club was spending the rest of the afternoon hanging out with their boyfriends.

"Its part of the test," Musa reminded him. "First we have to be announced and make our entrance, then we dance and then we eat. When that's all out of the way the test is over and we can enjoy the night. They've got DJ Mirage coming again to lay down the beats."

"Sounds delightful," Riven commented sarcastically, taking a seat on the ground, his back against one of the trees that grew towards the back of the school grounds. He was so tired.

"It'll be fun," Musa said stiffly, crossing her arms and glaring down at the boy on the ground. What was he stopping for?

"Well, that's you're idea of fun," Riven sighed, holding out his arms. "Sit down with me."

"Why?"

"Just do it, Musa."

Musa hesitated. They were in a rather secluded part of the school, and her dreams of Riven suddenly attacking her in his arms were still fresh in her mind. Slowly, Musa lowered herself into his embrace, her back lying against his chest.

Riven wrapped his arms tightly around her slight frame, and deeply breathed in the scent of her hair. He suddenly felt lightheaded and his heart pounded with love. He was crazy to be thinking of Darcy while he slept when he had Musa when he was awake. She was everything he ever wanted and more. With a content sigh, he leaned back against the tree and shut his eyes. Maybe with Musa in his arms, his dreams of Darcy would be kept at bay.

As Rivens arms tightened around her, Musa felt her pulse quicken in fear. She had never felt this way before around Riven, but her dreams were too firmly fix in her mind. She couldn't stop thinking about the aggressive way he had held her, the way he grabbed at his body and finally how he ravished Darcy. And even though it was just a dream, she was terrified that it might one day become a reality.

Riven was just dozing off when Musa suddenly wiggled out of his arms.

"Where are you going?" Riven asked, his mind slowly waking up.

"Um, I . . . I've got some homework that I need to finish."

"Can't it wait?"

"I don't want to fall behind."

Riven sighed. "Do you want me to hang out with you in your room while you do it?"

"No. You might distract me."

"Is that a bad thing?" Riven smirked. He was trying to get back to the stage they had been at a few weeks ago, where they'd be able to joke with one another. But for some reason that joke didn't go down so well.

"I'll cell you later, okay?" Musa asked, trying to keep the panic out of her voice.

"Fine," Riven _huff_ed, getting to his feet. He tried to lean in to give her a kiss goodbye, but she ducked out of the way and left with a wave. Feeling rejected and frustrated, Riven went and looked for his bike.

* * *

Whenever Riven was feeling frustrated or irritable, he'd usually go for a ride. It was like some kind of therapy for him. Whenever Brandon would annoy him to breaking point, or when school would become too much for him to handle, Riven would jump on his bike and go for a long, fast ride to avoid being tempted to kill someone.

And he was currently flooring it as he raced back to Red Fountain. He was frustrated and confused with Musa, and he needed to ride that frustration out. And the faster, the better.

He just didn't know what had changed between them. She suddenly seemed uncomfortable around him, and had actually seemed to make an effort to avoid being alone with him. He didn't think he had done anything wrong, or at least he couldn't remember doing anything, but that was irrelevant when it came to girls. Sometimes he had gotten into trouble by not doing anything, or by doing what they said they wanted him to do when in actual fact they wanted him to do the complete opposite.

What was it with the female species and mind games? Riven had been playing their games for years and he still had no idea what the rules were, and he had competed against the ruling champion of mind games; Darcy.

Maybe Musa had been able to tell he had been thinking of his ex-girlfriend? Could she do that? Could she take one look at his face and know exactly what was on his mind? It was true she did know him better than most people, but that didn't make her a mind reader.

Did it?

Shaking his head to try and clear these annoying thoughts, Riven tried to accelerate the already insanely fast speed. He was driving so fast his hands were freezing, but he didn't care. All his worries seemed to be left behind as he roared down the road, the normal speed limit for this particular area long, long, _long_ forgotten. He was feeling better than he had in two weeks. With his body reeling in adrenaline, Riven tried to make the bike go even faster.

That was when he noticed that instead of going faster, his bike was starting to slow down. The lights on the screens that displayed the bikes different gages flickered slightly, and the bike slowed dramatically.

"No," Riven moaned, trying to keep his bike going. "No, no, no, no, no, no! Keep going, baby. Don't cut out on me. Just don't you die on me. C'mon. C'mon!"

The bikes engine surged for a minute, and then went dead. The lights flicked off, and the bike stopped completely after the momentum died off.

"Damn it!" Riven fumed, climbing off his bike to have a look at the engine. It couldn't be engine failure. Riven was fanatical about his bike, so there was no way he'd miss a fault in its mechanics. Maybe the engine was running a little hot. He had been pushing it pretty hard after all.

The frustration he had left behind on the ride suddenly caught up with him, and it was doubled by the irritation of this unknown bike problem. Angry beyond cursing, Riven savagely kicked his bike. The bike didn't respond to the sudden outburst, and Rivens foot now throbbed.

Riven was so focused on trying to find his voice so he could utter every curse word in the known universe, that he didn't notice the person calmly leaning against a tree on the side of the road exactly opposite his now stationary bike, tranquilly watching his predicament.

"Bike trouble?" the person asked when she had gotten bored with being ignored. Riven jerked around, glaring at the girl with an un-amused look, and she couldn't suppress a small smile spreading across her lips. He looked luscious in the bloody red cast of the sinking suns.

"I'm really not in the mood, Darcy," he warned, turning his attention back to the bike. He heard the rustle of clothes and that sticking sound high heels make as they sink into the ground and then get ripped out again. Darcy's sweet scent flooded his senses, making it hard for him to focus on the bike.

"I can tell," Darcy responded, her voice dangerously close to him.

"So then get out of here."

"Be nice," she ordered. "Why can't we be civil to one another anymore? We just to have so much fun together, didn't we? Don't you remember all those good times?"

Riven did, but he was never going to admit that to her. "Sorry if I find it a little difficult to be polite to someone who tried to kill me."

"You're being prejudice, Riven," Darcy told him, turning around and leaning against the now cold bike, forcing Riven to look at her. "Did you ever stop to think why I did those things? I was looking out for you."

"Bull."

"Why do you think I locked you in a dungeon at Cloud Tower? It was to keep you away from the Army of Decay. And that time when me and my sisters stormed Red Fountain to get that piece of the codex, I never laid a finger on you. That was all Icy and Stormy."

"Oh yeah? How do you explain the Resort Realm then?"

Darcy shrugged. "Okay, that time I did want to kill you, but you've wanted to kill me too, so we're even. So why can't we, right now, talk to each other in mutual hate and understanding? You and I can try to deny it, but the cold hard truth is we both get one another. Admit it; you're not worried now, even though you're alone with your enemy, are you?"

"No," Riven confessed. He wasn't worried because he was alone with his enemy. He was worried because he was alone with his ex-girlfriend. The ex-girlfriend that he had been thinking of at night when he should have been thinking of his current girlfriend instead.

"So what's new?" Darcy asked casually, as though she had never tried to kill him and enslave the universe. Even though he knew he shouldn't even be talking to her, Riven felt himself relax. Hell, she was probably only girl he could really talk to, with the exception of Musa.

Man, his life was screwed up.

"Nothing much," Riven shrugged, leaning up along side her. "It's my final year at school, so they're putting the pressure on us. Timmy's already studying like a mad man even though final exams are months away. I think I'll be glad when it's all over and done with."

"School's overrated," Darcy told him. "I never finished my final year, and I'm doing fine."

"You still haven't succeeded in taking over the universe," Riven pointed out.

"We're working on that," Darcy said with a sly smile, and Riven couldn't help but grin back. "Trust me Riven, as soon as you graduate and get out into the real world, you'll come to understand that history is everything you ever learned in high school."

"I reckon I might just believe that," Riven sighed. Something about this wasn't right. He shouldn't be talking so causally like this with Darcy. She was dangerous, he knew that more than anyone, and yet here they were talking as though they weren't enemies. His friends would freak if they knew about this. He'd just have to keep this from them. Plus he couldn't risk Musa finding out about these conversations. They were already in a weird patch already without her knowing that he was talking to his ex the way he should be talking with her.

"So why are you so stressed?" Darcy asked.

"I'm not stressed."

"Yeah you are. You never drive that fast unless you're pissed off or frustrated about something, and you were burning it up back there."

Riven hesitated. Damn, she really did know him. "It's nothing."

"Yeah right. Are you having a tiff with your girl?"

Rivens head snapped up. "That's none of your business."

"Sorry," Darcy _huff_ed, holding up her hands in defense. "I guess it doesn't really matter. You guys have made it through worse, I suppose. Like you betraying them and going out with me."

"Thanks for reminding me," Riven grumbled.

"And then of course there was that thing with Musa going out with that Jared guy last year."

Riven suddenly felt like he had just had been plunged into ice cold water. Musa did _what _with Jared?! And last year?! They were kinda sorta together then! His hands started to shake, but wither it was from angry or shock he couldn't tell.

"What?" he finally managed to choke out.

"You know, that date she went on with that Jared guy in the middle of last year. He was all love sick on her and I think she developed a crush on him or something," Darcy told him while she observed her fingernails. "I tried to use Jared to sabotage the reality chamber and crush all those pixies but the idiot was so bleeding obvious that Faragonda caught him out. What a loser."

"Yeah," Riven gasped. He suddenly found it hard to breath.

"Well, I better get out of here," Darcy said, getting to her feet and walking off the road. "It was nice talking to you Riven."

"Yeah," Riven nodded, also getting to his feet. His mind still wasn't thinking properly.

"Drive safe," Darcy smile, snapping her fingers. With a roar, Rivens levi bike came back to life, making Riven jump and he spun around to stare at the bike. And when he turned about around, Darcy was gone.

* * *

_Ohhh. Darcy let the Jared bombshell slip. That witch. TBC_


	5. Life's A Drag

_I love the title for this chapter. Just thought you needed to know that. _

* * *

When Helia had first transferred to Red Fountain, his grandfather had offered him a single room to himself. However, when a long standing argument Riven had with his roommate started to get violently out of hand about half way through Helia's first year at the school, Helia had offered to room with Riven. Helia had been feeling rather self-conscious about the fact that he really didn't have any close friends like the other guys in the grade did and he knew that not having a roommate hindered that. Though he did have some doubts wither or not he'd be able to get along with Riven.

His doubts proved to be fruitless, and ironically, even though he had been accepted into Rivens small group of friends, Helia found that he was closest with Riven. Helia had even come to suspect that a poet lurked somewhere under Riven's hard shell. At Helia's old school, swearing was never considered to be an art form, but Red Fountain was something completely different, and Riven had no equal in that particular field. He could splutter such wide, colourful curse words with such a perfect poetic rhythm that Helia could only dream of achieving so spontaneously.

This is why when Riven stormed into their room absolutely overflowing with curses Helia paused to listen for a minute before deciding it was probably a good idea to interrupt.

"What's the matter?" Helia asked calmly.

Riven let loose a few more choice phrases as he paced angrily before answering. "Nothing."

"I highly doubt that."

"Why are you here?" Riven demanded. "Shouldn't you be with Flora?"

"Her and Layla are doing a project so I'm not going anywhere soon," Helia explained. "Now what's got you all worked up? And if you dare try and tell me it's nothing I'm going to rip your tongue out."

"This coming from the pacifist poster boy?" Riven hissed, still pacing the room like some kind of caged animal. "Did you know that Jared had a crush on Musa?"

Helia frowned. "Flora might have said something about it."

"You knew?" Riven flared, his eyes blazing.

"I didn't know anything for certain. Flora just said that Stella was trying to set Musa up with Jared and that Musa was upset with Stella because she was still infatuated with you."

"Stella! I should have known!"

"Stop it, Riven."

"Where's Jared now?" Riven demanded, heading for the door. He was going to kill that grass cutting little nerd. But before he could grab the door knob, some thin, golden strings latched a hold of his body, stopping him in his tracks.

"I'm not letting you leave," Helia said firmly, his laser glove leashing his roommate.

"Lemme go!"

"No."

"Helia! Let me go, or so help me I'll – "

"I'm not letting you go until you calm down."

"I am calm!"

"No you're not!" Helia snapped, pulling back on his laser strings and throwing Riven so off balance that he crashed to the floor. Helia quickly moved so he was standing over his roommate and blocking his way to the door. "Now, what has been going on with you lately?"

"Nothing," Riven answered stubbornly, refusing to look at Helia. He was making him feel like a disobedient child, and Riven didn't like that in the slightest. But he had managed to bring some of his temper under control.

Helia's eyes narrowed. "Okay, if you're going to be like that, fine. But why haven't you been sleeping at night? Don't think I haven't noticed. And what exactly is going on with you and Musa? A few weeks about you were so smitten with one another it was impossible to get a straight conversation out of you an now your always fighting. Riven, what is going on?"

Riven felt his body start to go cold as he thought of how he and Musa were always fighting, and even just thinking about it made him sick to his stomach. Riven pulled his knees up and wrapped his arms around the top of them. And then, with a deep sigh, he buried his face in his arms.

"I'm screwing everything up," he admitted to Helia in a small voice.

"How?" Helia asked gently, sitting down on Rivens bed and placing a supportive hand on his roommates shoulder. He needed to get Riven talking. Bottling his emotions up inside like this wasn't healthy for him.

"I don't know, I just am. I must have done something because she's acting like she's afraid to be around me. It's like she doesn't trust me or something."

"She does trust you. I'm pretty sure she's in love with you."

"No she isn't."

"How do you know that?"

"Because if she did she wouldn't go out on a date with Jared, now would she?" Riven point out, his face still buried. "Maybe it would be better if she went out with Jared. He'd be a better boyfriend then I'd ever be."

"I don't think that's true. I know that you really care for Musa, and she cares for you too. There's nothing Jared can do that can out weigh that. I think you just need some sleep," Helia suggested.

"Maybe."

"Why haven't you been sleeping?"

"No reason. Just dreams."

"About what?"

Riven hesitated. He needed to tell someone about Darcy. He knew he needed to warn them, but he also knew he couldn't just come right out and say it. "Just dreams, but they've got Darcy in them."

"That witch you went out with?" Helia asked. He had missed the whole Darcy and Riven saga, but Flora had filled him in on the details. Why would Riven be dreaming about her? Maybe he was still a bit freaked out by her trying to kill him at the Resort Realm. "You don't have to worry about her. Her and her sisters are still trapped in the Realm of Realix."

"What if they got out?" Riven questioned, looking up at Helia for the first time since he fell to the floor.

"Is that likely?"

"You never know."

"I think you're just tired," Helia told him. "Go to sleep, and when you're rested you should talk with Musa. You two need to get past this stage. I don't think either of you could handle it if you let this ruin your relationship."

"M'kay," Riven mumbled, getting off the floor and collapsing on his bed. Helia went back to his drawing, occasionally looking over at his roommate to make sure he was sleeping. But Riven was too afraid to close his eyes.

He knew what was on the other side of them.

* * *

"Maybe me and Riven aren't meant to be together," Musa thought out loud that night. All her friends had gathered in her and Techna's room to have a girl's session and the conversation had eventually gotten around to trying to figure out what was going on between Musa and Riven. Musa glumly ignored Tune's correction of her grammar staring pointlessly at the book on the desk in front of her. She didn't know why she even had the book out. She had finished all her homework ages ago; the first time she had done that before ten o'clock at night since she had started going out with Riven.

"Oh, no you don't!" Stella instantly snapped. "I tried forever to try and set you up with someone who would be a better match for you and you've selfishly stuck to Riven. And now I'm finally getting to see why you would want to have him for your boyfriend and you start to think he might not be the one for you? Musa! That is so inconsiderate of you!"

"You're right. I'm a selfish pig," Musa admitted sarcastically.

"But Musa, you and Riven belong together," Amore told the musical fairy. "I just know it."

"That's right!" Chatta instantly agreed in her loud voice. "And if anyone should know it should be Amore! She is the Pixie of Love after all! Everybody needs to stop thinking so glumly! I know! I'll write you a new cheer, and then everyone will be happy! Here we go! Hap – hap – happy! That's what you need to be! Just – "

"Maybe we should leave the cheer for the moment?" Flora suggested gently, softly covering Chatta's mouth when she noticed the cheer was not making Musa feel any better.

"But what did Riven do to make you change you're mind about him?" Bloom question from her spot lying on Techna's bed with Lockette and Kiko. "I mean, you've ignored most of his other short coming before, no offence. Why don't you think it'll work now when he's starting to open up to you?"

"I don't know," Musa admitted. "Maybe I've just ignored too much for too long and now I can't get what I've tried to ignore off my mind."

"What have you been trying to ignore?" Layla asked.

Musa sighed deeply. "Riven's relationship with Darcy."

"But he doesn't like her any more," Techna pointed out. "That's why he's going out with you."

"But I can't forget the fact that he went out with her before. I know I shouldn't be dwelling on something like this but I can't help it. It's all I can think about. And the one thing that I need to know I . . . It's impossible to ask."

"What is that?" Flora asked, while the others waited on baited breath.

Musa burring her face in her hands and took a deep breath. "I want to know . . . how far he went with Darcy."

"Oh honey no!" Stella instantly objected. "No! No! No! No! No! No! No! No! No! Musa! You can't ask something like that! You'll ruin everything you have, or will have with Riven!"

"I know, and I'm not even sure if I want to know the answer but it's driving me crazy," Musa admitted. "I mean, what if he did do something with Darcy that I know I'm not ready for? Then what? Will he become bored with me and go looking for someone else like . . . like . . . like Priscilla or someone?"

"Priscilla?" Stella repeated. "Why would Riven go after Priscilla?"

"I did tell you that Priscilla was a name of a bus in a movie about drag queens back on earth, didn't I?" Bloom thought out loud, remembering the time she wanted to drive through the Australian outback on a giant shoe with her dress flying behind her like a banner.

"It was just an example," Musa told the others, ignoring Blooms drag queen comment.

"You think Riven would be unfaithful to you?" Layla questioned.

"I don't know. Maybe."

"Do you have any valid proof on this matter?" Techna asked.

"No."

"Then this paranoia is illogical."

"Even I have to agree on that one," Stella nodded. "Riven's so hooked on you it kinda pathetic. I mean, you have him so whipped there's no way he's gonna wander. And you should be happy about that, not freaking. I might think that Riven's attitude stinks, but he is one fine piece of flesh. He's got that whole bad boy kinda thing going on, he's got killer arms and rather large hands and feet. Now, I might be wrong, but isn't there an old saying; big feet, big . . ." Stella trialed off when she noticed that most of her friend and all the pixies (except of course Piff who was asleep and Chatta, who shared Stella's love of gossip) were glaring at her, "shoes?"

Tune looked like she was going to explode. "I think that it's dreadfully un-ladylike to be discussing this kind of thing," she objected in as even a voice as she could manage. "A persons dating history is a private matter, not something that should be analyzed by their friends behind ones back."

"But knowing all the information is important," Digit disagreed. "Musa has every right to hypothesize now so she has some idea of what she's getting into."

"You can't put love down to logic," Amore said gruffly.

"Everything can be put down to logic."

"Not love!" Amore shouted.

"Everything!"

"Stop being so rude!" Tune exploded. "PLEASE!"

"Oh man," Musa groaned, burring her face in her arms as a three way pixie screaming match commenced, complete with Chatta as a cheer squad. Piff woke up and burst into tears at the noise, which was joined by the fairies all talking at once to try and calm the pixies down.

Musa did not want to deal with this now.

* * *

_The whole thing about the bus called Priscilla and the drag queens is of course referring to the Australian classic 'The Adventures of Priscilla; Queen of he Desert'. I'm not certain why a movie about cocks in frock on rocks was so successful, but for some reason it is. I personally find the whole thing really disturbing because I'm a massive Lord of the Ring fan, and no matter how transgenderal the elves may seem, Elrond is not a girl, or even a man that dresses like a girl. _

_Anyway, TBC._


	6. Domestic

_Okay, the next few chapters will all be set in the one night. It's basically the night where the shit hits the fan. Ohhh, the suspense.

* * *

_

It was Friday night, and despite the fact that three days had past since the formal dinner rehearsal, Riven discovered that the awkward mood that harbored between him and Musa was still there. They had gone out to dinner and had barely talked the entire time. She still felt uncomfortable around him and he was getting easily frustrated at her insecurity.

All in all, it was a rather unpleasant night, and it ended much earlier then their dates had in the past. Before, they had only just made it back for the eleven o'clock curfew Alfea had enforced on a Friday and Saturday night, and they had never made the ten o'clock curfew that inflict them the rest of the week.

"Well, tonight was . . ." Musa trailed off as she climbed of Rivens bike at the gates at Alfea.

"Yeah," Riven _huff_ed, looking off towards the woods. Musa could clearly make out all of his chiseled features in the pale light given off by the full moon. His jaw was set and his eyes were hard. Musa could practically see the softer side of him that she had tried so hard to bring out slowly slipping away.

"I'll see you later," Musa sighed, turning and heading towards the gate. Riven watched her leave, and for some reason every detail seemed highlighted to him. The way the moonlight reflected of her inky blue hair, her lily white skin and that sweet smell that always made him light headed. In that one moment, Riven realized how ridiculous he was to be thinking of Darcy, and he knew that if he let Musa go now, there may be no way for them to fix their relationship.

Getting off his bike as fast as he could without knocking it over, Riven quickly caught up to Musa. Grabbing her wrist, he pulled her back into his arms and caressed her cheek softly as he tried to put as much love as he was humanly possible into his eyes. Musa's beautiful blue eyes widen slightly, and then soften when she saw the tenderness in Riven's eyes.

"I dunno if I've done anything wrong, but if I have, I'm sorry," Riven apologized, making her heart melt.

"What makes you think you've done something wrong?" Musa asked, her face shinning in delight at Rivens attempt to make things right between them.

Riven shrugged. "I figure if something goes wrong, it's a safe bet to blame me. Everyone seems to do it, so why fight the majority?"

"You're an easy scapegoat," Musa teased, her smile lighting up Rivens night. Finally, things were getting back to where they were before. A soft smile touched Rivens lips and he cupped her face in his hand. And Musa couldn't help but notice that Stella was right; Riven really did have big hands and feet.

"You're amazing," Riven told her, his voice deep and gentle. "You know that?"

"Yeah," Musa grinned cheekily, her stomach all jittery. Gods he looked good.

"And they say I'm vain," Riven smiled back at her, resting his forehead on hers and gazing deep into her eyes. He could just drown in them.

"You are," Musa reinstated. "But that's why we're so good together."

"Yeah," Riven whispered, lightly brushing his lips over hers. He really wasn't sure how she might take his advance, but he just couldn't resist tasting them after he had practically starved himself over the last few weeks.

And he was not disappointed. After a brief hesitation, Musa pressed her lips more firmly against his, making his knees start to go weak. Slowly, he wrapped his arms around her and drew her closer to him. She had been rather skittish around him recently, and he didn't want to make any sudden moves and scare her off.

Musa breathed deeply through her nose, taking in Rivens natural scent. She loved how he had never bothered with cologne. He wore nothing and yet he still managed to smell great. It was such a male, dominating smell. She lightly ran her finger tips through the short hair at the back of his head before letting her hand get lost in the thicker part of his burgundy hair while her other hand traced his hard muscles in his arms.

Gods, she loved him.

"Wow," she panted when they finally parted. She was trembling slightly, but it was out of delight this time, not from fear. She wrapped her arms tighter around his solid form, resting her cheek on his chest. She felt warm and safe in his arms for the first time in weeks, and gods how she had missed it.

"Yeah, you're not a bad kisser for a pixie," he told her, his face buried in her hair. He could never get enough of just how soft it felt and how amazing it smelt. Stella might object to Musa's hair, but Riven loved it.

"Fairy," Musa grinned. "And you're pretty good too."

"Of course I am."

"Like when we first started going out, you couldn't kiss at all, and now . . ." Musa trailed off, her smile maliciously cheeky. Riven pulled away slightly so he could look at her.

"What do you mean I couldn't kiss at all?" he demanded, but it lacked his usual hardness he normally possessed whenever someone insulted him.

"Don't worry. I taught you well," Musa assured him.

"Whatever, pixie."

"Fairy."

Riven smiled at their affectionate little argument, and Musa felt her heart flutter. She knew that they were going to be fine. She loved him and she knew he cared for her very deeply. He had never told her how deeply, and she had never confessed her love to him, but that didn't matter. She suddenly had an insane amount of confidence in their relationship, and she knew nothing was going to tear them apart.

Which is why, ignoring all of her friends advice, Musa threw caution to the wind and decided it was time to be completely honest.

"Riven?"

"Hmm?" Riven grunted, his face once again lost in her hair.

"Can I ask you something?"

"Go ahead."

"Um, I'm not exactly sure how to say this so I'm just going to blurt it out," Musa warned, taking a deep breath. Everything would be fine between them. "I was just wondering, how . . . involved were you with Darcy?"

Riven went ridged and his breathe faulted. "What?"

"You and Darcy. How um, intense was your relationship?"

Sick waves of nausea churned through Rivens body. Why was she asking this now? Did she know that Darcy was having uninvited meeting with him? Did she know he had been thinking of his ex at night and that was the reason why he had been so difficult around her? Maybe this was some kind of test.

"Um . . ." Riven faltered, lifting his face from her midnight locks. He really didn't want to have this discussion. "That's not really important, is it?"

Musa suddenly felt awkward again. Why was he avoiding the question? "I was . . . um . . . I was just curious."

"It's really none of your business," Riven muttered, his defensive attitude kicking in.

"What?" Musa snapped. None of her business? He was her business so she had every right to know. If only he wasn't so impossible all the time. If only he was honest for once.

Riven took a step away from her, his eyes hard. "It's in the past, Musa. Let it go."

"Well I'm sorry! I can't just let it go!" Musa fumed, suddenly uncharacteristically angry. Fury pumped through her veins, clouding her mind. "Shockingly, I can't seem to forget a certain Wednesday afternoon during my freshmen year when the witches ganged up on me! And I can't forget asking a certain boy to help me, and do you know what he said?! 'I don't think so. I'm with Darcy now'!"

"Gods Musa, how long are you going to be dangling that over my head?!" Riven snarled, his eyes flashing. His fists were clenched and you could almost see the rage pulsating under his skin.

"I can't just ignore it like you!" Musa hissed. "I can't forget that my boyfriend originally rejected me for a witch who tried to kill him!"

"You're not going to bring that up again, now are you?!"

"Why can't we talk about it?!"

"Why do you want to talk about it?!"

"So I can get past it!" Musa shouted, her eyes smoldering. "I'm sick of playing this hide and seek games with you! No matter how hard I try I can never get you to be completely honest with me!"

"I am honest with you!"

"Bull! You're always hiding something from me and I can't stand it! I want to be able to look at you and know exactly what is on your mind so I'm not freaking out that you might be thinking about someone else like Darcy or Priscilla!"

"Why the hell would I be thinking of Priscilla?!"

"I saw you two talking at rehearsals yesterday!"

"She was asking about you!"

"The point is I'm sick of your mind games!"

"I'm not playing any mind games! I'm trying to open up to you! I'm being as honest as I can! And I'm sick of stepping around your insecurity! Why can't you just believe me when I say I want to be with you?!"

"Then why can't we talk about Darcy?!"

"Because I don't want to talk about Darcy!"

"I think I have a right to know as your girlfriend!"

"Oh yeah? Like the way I should have a right to know about you and Jared last year?!" Riven hissed, his voice dripping with venom and Musa felt her blood freeze. "Yes, Musa, don't think you let that little bit of information got by me!"

"That meant nothing to me!"

"So did Darcy!"

"It was completely different! You went out with Darcy for most of the school year! I just went on one date!"

"But I had no real feelings for her! And yet you developed a crush on that loser, didn't you Miss Honesty?!"

"At least he was clear with what he wanted!" Musa shouted. "He made an effort to impress me! He tried to charm me, not drag me along like you did! It's always back and forward so I have no idea where I stand with you! You do this every time! What, do you have radar or something?! Every time I think I know what I want or I think I might be happy you swoop in and mess everything up! And this has been going on for years! Three years of heart ache for me! So excuse me if I feel like enjoying actually being appreciated for once!"

"And yet you have the nerve to question my fidelity!" Riven raged, turning his back on her. "Forget this! I'm going!"

"Fine! Leave! Run away when things get difficult! That's what you do, isn't it?! Run from your problems?! I guess you do take after your parents after all! Coward! You – "

Whatever Musa was going to say next was cut off by a scream as Riven suddenly took firm hold of her shoulders and pinned her hard against the walls of Alfea. Her back throbbed from the sudden impact with the stones, and her heart pounded. Musa was afraid that Riven might actually raise his hand against her, and she struggled to keep that fear out of her face.

Rivens face was livid as he glared at her, his arms trembling. He was far too angry for words so he simply let his eyes burn into her as he struggled to clear his mind of the rage. She had some nerve to compare him to the family who had deserted him. He should make her suffer for that.

"Riven?" a small voice whimpered, and the rage that had blinded Rivens mind faded away. And he was horrified at the situation he was in. He had caged Musa in his arms, and she was staring at him in fearful uncertainly. Growing up on the streets, Riven had seen countless women in this situation, and he had sworn to himself that he would never sink to the level the men that cause that fear were at. And yet, here he was towering over the girl he loved, and her terrified of him.

He had become everything he ever hated.

With a gasp he released her and let his hands drop to his side as the stumbled backwards, his face full of hurt and confusion. His breath was shaky and uneven, and he could barely suppress the urge to be physically ill. He was shaking violently and his knees felt like they were going to buckle underneath him self. And although his body felt numb, his emotions were a whirlwind of anguish, pain and self loathing.

"I'm sorry," he whispered in a voice so soft Musa almost missed it. "I'll . . ."

But, unable to finish the sentence, Riven turned and headed towards his bike.

Musa couldn't move. She had originally been frozen in fear, but something had happened in the last few seconds to change that fear to shock. Her gaze had been fixed on Rivens, so she had clearly seen the transformation between his wild wrath to something that rattle Musa to the core. She had seen the anger melt away, washing away all the defenses Riven had always maintained, and for the first time since she had known him, Musa saw the real Riven.

There was so much pain in those eyes. There was a haunted looked that she had never seen in his face before due to the mask that Riven so effectively wore. There was pain there that none of them could ever really understand. None of them had seem all the horrors he had seem as a child, and none of them knew what it was like to be abandoned so completely and consciously by the ones who were supposed to love them. And that haunted, horrified look was accompanied by a vast level of self loathing and uncertainty. It was heart breaking.

What had she done to him?

Breathing heavily, Musa shook herself out of the trance she had worked herself into, her eyes burning with unshed tears. She had to stop this now before he left forever. The damage was done in regards to their relationship, but she could have him be on his own again.

"Riven! Wait!" she called, but he was already gone.

* * *

_Gasp! TBC._


	7. Pleasure and Pain

_Hey all. I figured I better get this next one up ASAP since it kinda explains why Musa and Riven did a lot of what they did in the chapter before. Riven's a bit suicidal in this chapter, so yeah, you've been warned.

* * *

_

Musa had bolted into her room, sobbing hysterically. Her friends naturally stopped whatever they had been doing to try and console her, but it had taken them half an hour to get her to tell them what was the matter, and another half an hour for her to sob the whole story to them.

"I'm gonna kill him," Layla concluded when Musa had finished.

Bloom gave the Princess of Tides a disapproving look from where she sat on Musa's bed, rubbing the musical fairy back in small, slow circles. "I don't think that's helping."

"It's completely out of character for him," Techna noted. "While it's true that Riven may not be the gentlest individual, I don't think he'd ever raise a hand against a girl, especially one he cares about."

"Hello! He threw her up against a wall!" Stella pointed out. "I think we can now add violence against women to Rivens long list of flaws. I told you he was no good for you Musa. Why couldn't you just stick with Jared then this – "

Stella was cut off by another of Musa's hysterical wails as fresh tears soaked into her quit. She was lying on her stomach, face buried in her sheets as she cried her broken heart out. A few of her friends sat on the bed with her, rubbing her back or caressing her head or holding her hand, but nothing comforted her.

"He knew," she cried, her voice muffled. "He knew about Jared."

"You never told him?" Techna gasped.

"N-N-No," Musa sobbed. "But somehow . . . h-he found out. And he's right! Gods, he's right! I have no right to question . . . t-to question wither he'll be unfaithful to me if I'm seeing . . . other guys behind his back!"

"It was just one date," Flora reminded her, stroking her dark hair.

"Still, I have no right . . . no right . . . And now . . . And now I've lost him!"

"Wait! Don't tell me you're honestly thinking of taking him back?!" Layla exclaimed.

"After all he's done to you?" Stella added in disbelief.

"You took Brandon back when you found out he and Sky switched identities," Flora said. Although her friends may not always agree with her, Flora had always gotten along rather well with Riven. And his closeness with Helia had only added to their friendship.

"Brandon never hit me!"

"Neither did Riven," Techna corrected. "I'm not trying to make any excuses for Riven, but he always has been rather emotional and has a tendency to lash out whenever he's angry. It's highly possible that Musa got him so mad he forgot who he was arguing with. Like some kind of a rage block out."

"I can't believe we're even having this conversation," Stella muttered, throwing her hands up in the air.

"Do you think it's possible for you two to work past this?" Bloom asked Musa. The Princess of the Harmonic Nebular lifted her tears stained and flushed face out of the blankets. She had cried herself out.

"No," she admitted glumly with a shake of her head. "You didn't see how hurt he was. And those things I said, like that thing about his family it's . . . It's just too horrible for him to forgive."

"Actually I thought what you said was perfect," a new voice told her evenly. "In fact, I don't think it could have gone better if I had given you the words myself. You've absolutely crushed him."

Standing quiet calmly in a darkened corner of the room stood Darcy. Her eyes were glowing in dreadful pleasure, and a wicked smile covered her face as she observed the crying fairy. This had defiantly been worth the wait.

"What are you doing here, witch!" Stella hissed, dropping down into a defensive stance. The other girls were in a similar position, except of course Musa who was still too shocked and numb to react.

"Gloating," Darcy answered honestly. "I think I have every right to be allowed that after all the time and effort I went through in order to set that little domestic up."

"You did what?!" Layla snapped, ready to kick some witch booty.

"Yes, that was all me," Darcy confessed. "Honestly Musa, you are the easiest girl in the universe to manipulate. You're even blinder then Bloom. I mean, come on. The dreams, the insecurity, and not to mention all those dark thoughts you've been having lately. You didn't even suspect something wasn't right. Riven's disgustingly devoted to you, and yet you still gave into my manipulation. Can you get any more pathetic?"

"You caused this?" Musa gasped, her eyes filling with tears.

"Of course I did. I planted my memories in your dreams so it would consume you and you would begin to question Rivens faithfulness. I kept highlighting your insecurities and fears till you couldn't tell your emotions from my dark magic. And that confidence spell I put on you so you'd have the nerve to ask about Rivens past with me was brilliant, if I may say so myself," Darcy gloated.

"No," Musa whispered in a shaking voice. Everything that had been going on between her and Riven had been Darcy's fault. She had manipulated them to destroy their relationship. Oh gods, what had she done?

"But I can't believe how perfectly you ripped him apart. Oh, it was like you knew exactly where his weak spots were and you just . . . Oh! It was so fantastic I can't even put it into words! I would have never thought of dragging his mother's desertion into the fight, but that got him right where it hurts! I love it! Who would have thought that just a few words from you could do more damage to him then all of my dark magic?"

"You witch!" Bloom snarled, furious that Darcy had manipulated and caused so much pain to not just one of her friends, but two.

"I am, aren't I? And may I just say I have not had this much fun since I destroyed Red Fountain with the Army of Decay. Although I must admit I did get kind of bored with you Musa. Those same old insecurities just get old after a while. But with Riven I could play with so many more levels of deception."

"You messed with Riven as well?" Flora said as viciously as she could. Helia had mentioned that something was wrong with Riven, but she didn't realize how dangerous that might be.

"It was easy," Darcy told them. "My dear little puppy dog is a gold mine of dark thoughts and fears for me to exploit. I could play on the mistrust he believes his friends has in him, or his guilt for betraying them, or his unworthiness of Musa. And then there's his horrible childhood I doubt any one of you could begin to really understand unless you look into his mind like I've done which I could manipulate to make him violent. Plus there's that wonderful little card I can play on any male; lust. I got him so frustrated he couldn't even think straight. You should have seen it Musa, the way he'd just start to sweat whenever I got close to him."

"Wait? Riven knew you were free?" Techna asked.

"He most certainly did, but it was his fear of losing your trust that made him keep it from you. Seems you lot have a few trust issues."

"Why are you doing this?" Musa whispered, sitting up. She had gone numb the more Darcy explained her different way to attack.

"Because Riven's a man, Musa. A man. Not a boy like your loser friends date. He has such potential for darkness, but you and your goody two shoes way is ruining that! It's pathetic what he's become. And like any dog that reaches that level of wretchedness, he needs to be either put down or retrained. And I plan to do that. He is going to pay for rejecting me and thinking he can go back to your idea of what's right. He will be completely at my mercy, and I will make him suffer. And the best way to do that it through you, Musa. You may have given him the strength to get away from me once, but you'll be his downfall now."

"You still have feelings for Riven, don't you?" Stella gasped. She had never imagined the Trix would be able to feel any emotion beyond hate, but there was something in Darcy's voice that suggested otherwise. Her face, however, gave nothing away.

"Only desire to destroy him," she assured them, her voice cold and her eyes hard. "And now, thanks to Musa, he's ripe for the taking."

"You're gonna regret messing with me, witch!" Musa spat, getting to her feet and readying herself for a fight. Darcy had turned her dream with Riven into a nightmare, and that witch was going to pay. He blood pounded in her ears, blinding her in rage.

"I'd really love to stick around and play, but I've got another engagement," Darcy smiled maliciously, gathering her power ready to transport herself through the shadows. She just needed to push Musa a little more. "But I'll give Riven your best."

Musa cracked. She didn't care that this was one of the most dangerous witches in the universe. All she wanted was to gauge her eyes out with her bare hands. Forgetting all about her powers, Musa lunged forward with an animal like snarl, her hands extended like claws.

But that's exactly what Darcy had been waiting for. Before the Winx Club could react to Musa's sudden attack, Darcy reached out and took firm hold of one of Musa's out stretched hands. And then, with a surge of dark magic, the pair vanished through the shadows, leaving behind a five very shocked girls.

* * *

Rivens bike strained under the intense speed Riven was forcing upon it. The woods flew by as he reached speed he would never have tried to achieve in a right state of mind, but now he didn't care. 

He needed to get out of here, he knew that. He just couldn't stay here now. Not after what he had done. Things with Musa were ruined beyond belief, and he had certainly lost the trust he had tried so hard to reestablish with his friends. But there was nothing he could do about that now. He'd just have to avoid them now for the rest of his life, and he knew that would be much easier then it sounded.

He would go to Magix tonight. He had lived without material possessions before, so there was nothing he needed at Red Fountain. He had his saber, that's all that mattered. Once in Magix, he'd sell his bike and then buy or steal another one, which ever came easiest. Timmy would be able to track him down if he kept this bike, and so once that was discarded he'd be able to move off into the unknown. He'd change his name and maybe his appearance and then take a job on one of those battle ships fighting in the Pippus Arc. None of his friends would ever go to that war zone. Casualty rates were high there and they weren't fussy about who they took on.

Riven just couldn't stay here.

His body was freezing from the wind but he couldn't feel it. He had become numb with hurt and self disgust that he had slipped into some kind of detached haze. He couldn't even remember why or when he had turned off the main road and now dodged the trees that he shot through the undergrowth. The added thrill satisfied his reeling state and one particularly close clip with the branches of a tree distracted him for a moment. The sleeve on the upper left arm was reduced to shreds and he could feel the blood rushing down from the wound.

Riven welcomed the physical pain. That kind of pain he could handle. It was so familiar to him now, but it was emotional pain he couldn't deal with. He knew he couldn't stand the look of disappointment on his friends faces, or the fear that Musa would surely have around him. Gritting his teeth, Riven pushed his bike faster as he flew through the trees. He just needed to get out of this realm.

And even though he knew he needed to do this, Riven couldn't keep Musa's voice out of his head.

_Run away when things get difficult! That's what you do, isn't it?! Run from your problems?! I guess you do take after your parents after all! Coward! _

His eyes suddenly burned, clouding his vision. As incoherent as his mind may be at that particular moment, Riven couldn't ignore the fact that he couldn't drive if he couldn't see. Slamming on the breaks, Riven came to a swift stop on the edge of a small clearing amongst the trees which was silver in the full moonlight. The engine of his bike jiggled as it recovered from the sudden stop from such a speed, but Riven didn't care.

He still gripped the handle bars so tightly that his knuckles had turned white. His heart pounded, and his chest felt tight. In the sudden stillness, Riven reflected on what had just happened at the gates of Alfea, and again he felt like he was going to be sick. In a sudden flash of white hot anger, he removed his helmet and threw it savagely at one of the many trees surrounding him.

"Damn it!" he exploded, glaring angrily at the night. Why did he always have to screw everything up? Why did he always seem to push away the people he cared about the most? Why couldn't he be normal for once?

Folding his arms across the handle bars of his bike and buried his face in them. He couldn't breathe properly, and his entire body was shivering, but it wasn't from the cold. His eyes burned with tears, but he didn't dare to let them fall. Old habits die hard. All he could do was gasp like a man who wanted nothing more than the cry but could not bring himself to do it.

He had only ever felt this alone and awful once before, and that involved him being left behind, not leaving. Everyone who should have loved him had abandoned him. His father had left before he was even born, and he could never forget the way his mother had left him on those steps in the city, promising that she would return shortly.

No wonder he was so messed up.

He was so numb by his emotions and caught up in his own pain, that he only just heard a voice greeting him from somewhere under the trees, hidden in the darkness except for a pair of glowing, golden eyes.

"Hey sweetie."

* * *

_TBC. __And although Riven is a violent character, I think he'd have too much honour to beat up a woman which is why I made it so Darcy manipulated his emotions to make him violent towards Musa, I just wanted to make that clear. Wen in doubt, blame the evil ex girlfriend and their manipulative ways. _


	8. It Will Always Just Be Me

_Just a little bit of information you may be interested in, the original inspiration for 'His Strength, His Weakness' was Panic! At the Disco's song 'Lying Is The Most Fun A Girl Can Have Without Taking Her Clothes Off''. I love that song, and you may find a few of their lyrics from their song in this chapter, and I don't own them either. You may also find one of my favorite Alanis Morissette lyric that I thought wasn't beyond Darcy. I love the corrupt.

* * *

_

"Hey sweetie."

Riven looked up, no longer surprised by Darcy's sudden appearances. She stepped out of the shadows, her tight fitting clothes hiding nothing even in the lack of light. Her skin was silver in the moonlight, and with her dark makeup, it made her look rather sickly.

"What do you want, Darcy," Riven asked in a detached tone. He was still so hurt that he didn't even consider the danger he may be in with her around. Frankly, he really didn't care.

"Just to chat," she told him, walking over to stand close to him. A little too close, perhaps, but Riven paid no attention to it.

"You seem to be doing that a lot lately."

"Well, after being stuck with my sisters in that realm, you can hardly blame me for being a little starved for conversation," Darcy grinned, but Riven continued to look at her with dead eyes. "What are you doing?"

"Leaving."

"You're running you mean. Let me guess, you'll go to some pointless battle field in search of some kind of release from this life. Where will you go? The shoulder of Orion? Or the Pippus Arc? Maybe even the gate of Tannhauser? But what got you thinking this way?"

"Go away Darcy."

"I know; you had a fight with that fairy of yours. Oh, what's happened to you Riven? You're running from a girl?"

"I'm not running."

"Yeah you are," Darcy corrected. "But I think you're running in the wrong direction. You're not going to find what you really need in some meaningless battle, or even in death. You need something else."

"And what do I need?" Riven asked, swinging one of his legs over the bike so he was leaning on one side of it, eager for any kind of direction.

"You need to forget her. You don't need her, and she was only trying to make you into something you're not. You're never going to be like that blonde little Prince Charming Bloom has. Let's face it, you were fine before her and her friends came in and tried to turn you into something that fitted their concept of how a male should behave. You were happy before all that."

"Maybe," Riven muttered, not really impressed with what he was hearing.

"I can help you get back to the way you were before they tainted you," Darcy offered.

"No Darcy."

"Why? You worried to might like it?" Darcy questioned her voice suddenly deep and seductive. She edged her way in between in legs, her hands lightly skimming across his inner thighs. And like so many time before, Riven felt himself being turn on by her even though he knew he shouldn't be.

"Darcy," he gasped, swallowing hard.

"Oh come on. You really shouldn't deny you urges. I know you still think about me late at night, and I'm sure I can still make you sweat and writhe in anticipation," Darcy purred, leaning forward and biting his neck in that one spot that always drove him mad with desire. His entire body shuttered as he let out a pleasurable gasp. There was no way he could deny he had missed this, but that didn't mean he could let it continue.

"Darcy, please."

"I know what you really want, Riven. Let's face it; I've got a got more wit, a better kiss and a hotter touch then any girl you'll ever meet. You need me, and you don't need Musa in the same way. Tell me, has she ever really forgiven you for being with me? You can't just replace me with that fairy. I'm not going to just fade away. Sweetie, you had me and when I think of how you left me, I hope she was worth it, but you know it never was. Is she perverted like me? Would she ever go down on you in a theatre like me? I don't think so, Riven. You could never replace me with her, and she will never be yours. She's a princess, street rat. You know it will always just be me."

"But . . . " Riven trailed off, horrified because he knew she was right. It would always just be her who he was worthy of. Musa was too far out of reach for him. She completely outranked him. Musa had told him time and time again that she didn't care about that out dated feudal issue of rank, but Riven was well aware that there were people out there who did care about that kind of thing. All his life he had been looked down on because he was a classless street rat, so he was painfully aware of the massive social gap between Musa and himself. Riven knew all his friends out ranked him, and none of them seemed to understand what an issue status could be. Even Brandon, though he was just a squire, had a fairy powerful position as Sky's first royal squire, not to mention he had his princes trust and enough blackmail on him to manipulate things to suit him. Riven didn't have that advantage.

"Just give in," Darcy said huskily in his ear before returning to grazing on his neck, and Rivens resistance crumbled. Ignoring everything he knew was right, Riven pressed his mouth against her and forced his tongue into her mouth without waiting for permission. There was no need to be gentle with the likes of her.

He thrust himself on her, and she welcomed his advances by shifting slightly till she was straddling him. She had been coped up on her own too long, and he had been dreaming about her too often for there to be any tenderness or hesitation between them. All that existed was wild, animal lust.

And all Musa could do was watch it all play out before her.

Darcy had put her into some kind of painful body lock that she was unable to break free from. This must have been the spell she had put on Bloom the first time they had battled in Shadow Haunt. Musa couldn't even move her neck to look away.

Musa had felt sick when Darcy had explained that she had been the one that had ultimately caused the fight between Riven and Musa, but that dropped to a deep level of horror, disgust and self loathing for Musa when she saw Riven hunched over his bike, struggling to get his emotions under control. Her careless words had done that to him, she knew it.

And now she was watching her nightmares play out before her, only this time she wouldn't be able to wake up from it because it was real. Darcy really was in Rivens arms and she was going to get her way with him.

Musa was no stranger to jealousy, but this was something completely different. Here she was watching some witch making out with her boyfriend after cleverly manipulating him. And who knew what Darcy would do after she had stratified her cravings. Would she kill him, or continue to play these games with him? The very thought made Musa growl in anger.

Suddenly, a small bolt of power surged through Musa, making her gasp in surprise, and just as suddenly it was gone. While her mind tried to decipher what had just happened, her eyes continued to drink in the scene that was carrying on before her. Frustrated beyond belief, she let out another growl since she couldn't curse out loud due to her jaw being clench shut by Darcy's dark magic. And again, that small bolt of magic surge through her.

'Of course!' Musa mentally exclaimed. She got her power from music! And singing was after only just the vibration of ones vocal cords. Her growling had activated her magic the same way she normally did when she was able to speak.

Forcing herself to concentrate, Musa began to hum to herself, trying to get enough power to break Darcy's spell.

* * *

"Riven," Darcy panted as he left a trail of aggressive kisses down her collar bone. His hands where all over her, both above and under her clothing, and she could not suppress the waves of pleasure that threatened to consume her from his closeness.

She loved him; she knew it but refused to voice it. She could still remember how captivating he was the first time she laid eyes on him. Sure, he was a little worse for ware since he had just been thrown through a window, but he had still left an impression on her. That was why she had pushed her sisters to agree to use him in their plans. While it was true they did need a spy, she wanted him to be so much more than that.

But once she had him in her clutches, her infatuation for him grew dangerously deeper. She could remember the way she'd get all out of place if he was late for any of their meetings, be it physical, over the phone or via the mind link she had set up between the two of them. He was like some kind of drug, and even though she knew he was doing her status with her sisters' damage, she really didn't care.

Darcy really had no idea why Riven had such an affect on her. She had been with countless emotionally messed up meat heads over the years, but Riven had somehow wormed his way under her skin. Maybe it was because Riven was smarter than the other boys she had been with. He wasn't book smart or anything like his nerdy little friend, but street smart. She could remember one date she had with him in Magix, Riven had managed to work the streets in such skillful manner one might think he possessed some level of magic. He stole, bargained, pick pocketed and shoplifted everything they had needed for their date, and if it ever blew up in his face, he knew exactly where to turn in order to lose their pursuit.

Plus, like every teenage girl, Darcy needed validation that she was important, and Riven had offered her that, but it wasn't all because she made him do it. He would look at her with such clarity in his eyes that Darcy would fear that she had lost control over him, and yet he'd still praise her and open up things she had never noticed before without his honest insights.

"I don't know why you let Icy boss you around like that," he had said to her on one of their dates.

"We need her leadership and ambition," Darcy had replied.

"I don't think so. I think she just needs the confirmation that someone's always got her back. If she was ambitious as you say she is, don't you think she would have deserted you and Stormy by now so she could have all the glory for herself? That's what I would do. And as far as leadership goes, she's not as great as she's got you thinking she is. I mean, her plan to look for the Dragon Fire while all of Alfea was at that concert fell through because a bunch of pixies were on detention. And they were without their powers. That doesn't seem like good leadership to me. I think she needs you more than you need her."

That one point from him had completely altered Darcy's view on her sisters. She no longer followed Icy with such blind obedience and always tired to come up with back up plans and escape exits for when Icy's plans fell through. It was his insight that had triggered that.

But the one thing she would always remember was during some ungodly hour one morning at Cloud Tower. Riven had spent the night with her even though both their teachers would have had a fit if they had known, but neither of them really cared. Hell, it wasn't the first time they had done something like that.

After a few hours of sinful passion, Darcy sat up in bed, her sheets the only thing covering her naked body. The room was lit by a single candle, and she flipped through the pages of an old spell book looking for the curse that would generate an ooze that reduced your skin to shrivels and make you look like you were an old lady in the room of that sophomore that had given her cheek the day before.

Riven lay beside her, trying to fall asleep. He had combat class first period that morning, and he had to make sure he got up early enough to sneak home before anyone noticed he was missing. He would had already headed off except he was absolutely exhausted, and then only thing that stopped him from passing out was the creaking of the pages and Darcy's irritated muttering.

Darcy didn't know if he had been staring at her or just happened to be looking up at her when she glanced at him, but she could clearly remember their eyes locking. His expression was blank but his eyes were probing yet soft. Normally Darcy would have been put off by such tenderness, but for some reason Riven made her breath catch. Slowly, Riven tucked a lose strand of hair behind her ear, his eyes never leaving her face.

"You're beautiful."

All he said were two words. Just two words, but they had filled Darcy with a thrill she had never known before. She knew she was beautiful. She had had enough people tell her that, but there was something in the way Riven had said it and the way he violet eyes watched her that made it different. She didn't care that he then rolled back over and tried to sleep, it was the most amazing moment she had ever experienced.

Maybe it was because he had said it when she knew she wasn't looking her best. Her hair was disheveled, her skin was covered in sweat, she smelt horrible and she hadn't removed her eye shadow which must have become smudged beyond belief. And yet he still thought she was beautiful.

Did he see something deeper within her? Was it something so beautiful that no outer appearance could affect that? Darcy didn't care. All she knew was she completely forgotten about skin shriveling ooze and sophomores. The only thing that filled her mind was that wonderful feeling and how she wasn't going to let Riven get any sleep regardless of how hard Codatorta was going to ride his ass in combat class.

It was then that she first thought of and rejected the possibility that her feelings for Riven had deepened.

And now, after months of waiting and planning, she finally had Riven back in her arms again. Once her desire was satisfied she'd start having fun by torturing Musa and forcing Riven to watch. The surrounding woods would be perfect for a little game of hide and seek. Darcy and Musa would hide, and Riven would have to seek them. But she'd given Riven clues to where they were hiding, like maybe Musa screaming. And once that pathetic pixie was out of her hair for good, she'd take Riven for her own, wiping his mind clean of any good thoughts he might have and transforming him into a dark warrior that was suited to stand along side her.

The Lord and Lady of Darkness.

Things were finally happening the way she had wanted them too. She had just started to try and unbuckle Rivens belt when she sensed something wasn't right, but it was too late.

"Boogie Blaster!"

* * *

_TBC. Oh, another thing, Puppis is a star cobstilation of a ship. And the Shoulder of Orion the Gate of Tannhauser are part of my favorite quote in the whole wide world. See my home page thingy and even my pen name and you'll see what I mean. _


	9. Freaks of Nature

_Yeah, I couldn't remember Musa's and Darcy's attacks and I couldn't be stuffed looking for them, so I made them up. They sound like they could belong to them but_. _I'm close, I think._

* * *

"Boogie Blaster!"

Riven had become so absorbed by lust he barely heard the attack, but he did feel it. Darcy took most of the impact, and it sent her flying away from his embrace. The sudden force of the blast, however, still hurled Riven backwards. The hero toppled over the bike and he and the vehicle crashed to the ground, knocking the wind out of one and breaking the mirror of the other.

Great. There was seven years bad luck right there, and it looking like the gods of superstitions was getting to work right away.

"Dark Wave!"

Trying to clear his mind and catch his breath, Riven looked up from his spot on the ground, his legs still draped over the knocked over bike. His mind had been slowed by Darcy's subtle manipulation, but he wasn't aware of that. He just figured he was knocked senseless from the fall. Shaking himself like a dog coming out of the water, he managed to break out of that lethargic state of mind and turned his attention to what was going on in front of him.

"Sonic Boom!"

"Pitch Black!"

Darcy had used her dark magic to levitate herself into the air and was hurling as many attacks as she could muster at Musa who had transformed into her Winx form. Riven stared for a moment at the fairy's bare legs (gods he loved that skirt) before memories of what had happened came flooding back to him. And after all that drama she had come across him making out with Darcy; the cause of the fight.

If there was ever a chance of fixing things between the two of them, Riven knew it was gone now. What a minute, why was she even here?

"Riven!" Musa's voice suddenly broke Riven out of his thoughts. A wayward blast of magic had been averted his way after colliding with another attack. Acting quickly, Riven pulled out his saber, extended it and was only just able to deflect it in time.

"That was you attack by the way!" Darcy spat towards Musa. "Midnight Shroud!"

Musa quickly conjured the protection bubble Grisenlda had taught her last year. "Riven! Get up!"

Too confused to disagree, Riven untangled his legs from the bike and scrambled to his feet. He was useless due to the fact that he was yet to discover the art flying, so he was forced to watch his two ex's (all things considered, he didn't think he could call Musa his girlfriend any more) battle it out in the sky above him.

"Hey Musa, let's see if you can multitask," Darcy grinned, gathering her dark powers in the palms of both her hands. "Deadly Nightshade!"

Musa managed to block the fistful of dark magic hurled her way, but the other hand cast its magic down towards Riven, and his saber did little to block the black wave that engulfed him. Riven was no stranger to this attack – it was one of Darcy's favorites after all – but that didn't make the little reunion any more pleasant. Total darkness encased him, and he couldn't breathe. A terrible coldness stuck deep into his body and soul, and a painful roar filled his ears.

And Riven could feel himself drop deeper into the dark spell.

But then, faintly, he felt something light and warm flutter so delicately across his skin he wasn't certain if he had felt anything at all. But then the warm feeling increased, and a faint red glow started to brake through the darkness.

"Riven?!" Musa voice reached him. There was a strange tone to her voice. Fear and uncertainty, there was no doubting they were there, but also a deep hurt and, oddly, compassion. It was almost like she cared wither he lived or not. "Riven?! Are you okay?!"

Struggling to even out his voice, Riven forced himself to stand despite the weakness in his legs. "I'm fine. What are you doing here?"

"Total Eclipse!"

"Darcy brought me here!" Musa shouted as Darcy's attack smashed into her shield. She briefly glanced over her shoulder to make sure Riven was telling the truth and tried not to freak out when she saw the deep purple bruises that covered his body. They looked painful. "She's been messing with our heads the last few weeks. That's why we've been fighting."

Rivens eyes narrowed, trying to work out if he believed her or not. He wanted too, that was for sure, but something Darcy had said a few weeks ago still lingered too clearly in his mind.

_You make it sound like I had you doing things you'd never do if you weren't spelled. All I did was loosen your inhibitions and unleash that brilliant potential you had. I never added anything to you, if that's what you're thinking. That side of you was already within you restrained by your idea of what's wrong and right._

What if Darcy was telling the truth? What if he really was capable of doing those kinds of acts just out of nature? He wouldn't be able to trust himself around Musa any more. There was no denying how infuriating she could be, but he never wanted to raise a hand against her. She could hit him all she wanted, he didn't care. But he couldn't have it the other way around. What had happened outsides the gates of Alfea an hour ago was the closest he had ever come to hitting a girl out of anger. What if that was enough to _unleash that brilliant potential _of his,as Darcy put it? He'd sooner die that put any girl, especially Musa, through that kind of pain and fear.

"You can't stay in that bubble for ever!" Darcy shouted, but she knew she needed to get control of the situation now. Every inch of her skin was covered in sweat and shaking in exhaustion. She was gasping for air now in deep pants, and each spell she hurled down to the couple of the ground was becoming more and more difficult to conjure.

She needed help in order to give her a second to re-gather her strength.

Her eyes never leaving the other two, Darcy cast her dark magic towards two rather old liking trees surrounding the clearing. Carefully, she twisted the soul of the trees into darkness and altered them unnaturally. As her dark magic change them on the inside, it reflected on the outside. The trees bark became weathered and twisted. Their leaves died and fell out in patches. Their branches reached out towards the night like fingers, and then the trees suddenly shuttered and let out a wicked, tortured wail.

Riven felt the hairs on the back of his neck stand on end as he watched the trees twist slightly, then suddenly come to life and rip their roots out of the ground and stoop upon them like legs. They swayed for a second, then seemed to become used to their now mobile state and began to advance on the two teenagers on the ground, wailing and clawing the air madly. One of the trees tore off one of its own branches and held it aloft like a club.

It was ghastly.

"Go Charmix!" Musa shouted, shifting into a more powerful form. "Maximum Volume!"

The trees faltered slightly, but then the tree without a club reached out and wrapped its branches around Musa's slim frame and began thrashing her about as it tightened its grip. Musa couldn't breathe, but she couldn't tell if it was from the strangling grip the tree had around her or from the way her ribs slammed against the rough bark and it threw her about. Her vision started to deteriorate, but before the blackness completely took over, there was a flash of purple.

With a painful thud, Musa dropped to the ground with the branch hand still wrapped around her. It was not, however, still attached to the monster tree, which was reeling from the loss of the limb.

"Get up Musa!" Riven shouted, raising his saber to block the club from the other tree. The phantom blade bite deep into the wood as the two fighters tried to breakaway for each other or shatter the others weapon. The tree pushed an insane amount of strength down on Rivens blade, and the Red Fountain student felt his legs start to give way underneath such a force.

"If I make it out of this alive, I'm going to hit Helia in the mouth for saying these things need to be protected," Riven hissed through clenched teeth, trying desperately to stop his legs from slipping out from under him. Mind you, most trees didn't look like they had just stepped out of the Realm of Nightmares, but he was still going to hit his roommate. Softly, but still hit him.

Suddenly, just when Riven honestly though he was going to collapse, the trees club splintered and the phantom blade cut straight through. Not expecting the sudden release, Riven fell forward and hit his head hard against the unyielding bark of the nightmare trees trunk. Knock senseless, Riven dropped to the ground in a daze with blood flowing down his face, only slightly aware that the tree was now flailing its arm like branches in the air, wailing horribly with Rivens saber run straight through the center of its trunk.

The other tree, however, had recovered from its amputation, and began an awkward charge towards to dazed specialist, fully intent of seeking its revenge. An arm for an arm, as it were.

"Riven!" Musa cried, as she struggled to untangle herself from the branches encaging her. Riven took no notice of her voice or the advancing tree. With each step the tree took, its root legs dug into the ground, crushing anything it stepped on. And it had every intention to snap Riven with his legs the way a human might step on a twig.

Musa pulled desperately at the fingers of her cage, snapping most of the slimmer branches away, but there were three think branches that just would not give. She couldn't wiggle her way out of them, and time was running out.

"Riven! Riven, get up!" Musa shouted, thrashing out at the branches more violently. She didn't know what was going too happened between Riven and her, but there was no way she was going to lose him to some freaky vegetation. "Sonic Boom!"

Her teachers had always warned her never to direct an attack too closely to your self, and now she knew why. Thrown free from her entrapment with a massive force, Musa crashed to the ground hard, her skin stinging from the blast and the splinters. But she didn't have time to even reel from the pain. Scrambling to her feet, Musa sprinted towards where Riven sat, simultaneously trying to fly. She tried to beat her wings, but they had been so damaged in that crushing embrace that she couldn't get more than a few inches off the ground. Giving up on flying, she bolted to get in between Riven and the monster tree.

"The game ends here, you freak of nature!" Musa challenged, throwing herself in the trees path as she gathered her power. "Celestial Choir!"

Musa had never actually ever tried this attack in a real battle, or even in a simulation battle for that matter. She knew it was going to be a difficult attack when she first decided to try it at the beginning of last summer, but even which her practicing all throughout her holidays and all of the school year so far, she had only ever managed to successfully conjure it up once, and then she was so shocked that she lost it.

Pulling all her power into her center, Musa bowed her head and put her hands together in front of her chest as if she was praying with her finger tips light brushing her throat. A small white light began to form in between her cupped hands, and she started to hum slightly to try and build it up. Her skin started to tingle as a soft golden light began to radiate off her and the light in her hands grew bigger and brighter.

And then, crying out in the effort, Musa ripped her hands apart till her arms were being held out horizontally and the light was unleashed. It was so bright it flooded out all visibility, and an unworldly choir filled the air. Having being a student of music, Musa had known countless styles of choir sing, but she had never in her life heard anything more beautiful as the sound that her attack had produced. It was the reason she had tried to master such a difficult move to being with, and she was not disappointed. Each cord made her heart want to bust from its beauty, and as the light started to disappear and the voices faded away, Musa could see the tree that had tried to attack Riven had been stopped where it stood. Darcy's magic had been removed and replaced with Musa's. Instead of being turned back to the old looking tree it had been before Darcy had twisted it, it was a beautiful, strong tree that seemed to have a faint golden light radiating from it. Flora would be so proud.

Dropping to her knees from exhaustion, Musa had never felt so proud of herself. She had tried so hard to master that attack, and she had managed to do it when it was needed the most. Its ghostly song still lingered in her ears, and she was surprised to find her eyes overflowing with tears of joy.

Riven had no idea what Musa had just done, but he really didn't care. He had always thought there was no way to improve on perfection, but somehow Musa had done it. There was no way he could ever put into words just what was different about her in that aftermath of that attack, but it was breathtaking. She just glowed. If Riven had ever needed proof of heaven, there it was in front of him. She looked like some kind of angel. And then, a harsh world of reality caused Riven to plummet back into his misery. She would never be his angel anymore.

Riven forced himself to tear his eyes away from her, suddenly feeling unworthy to even look at her. That degrading way of think probably saved Rivens life as he suddenly became aware that the remaining tree was not going to stop its assault due to the loss of its partner. And with his saber still fixed in the trees trunk, Riven had no way to defend him self. He needed to get his saber back.

"Musa! Look out!"

Jerking around, Musa saw a large branch get hurled in her direction. She quickly crawled to one side before scrambling to her feet, but then felt her heart stop as she watched Riven dodging out of the way to the tree big, sweeping claws. With skillful steps, Riven managed to avoid the trees attacks, but he was still too close to danger for Musa's comfort. Only when she saw Rivens saber protruding out of the trees trunk did she understand.

"Sonic Blast!" Musa shouted, unleashing the blast at the upper parts on the tree. As she expected, the tree reeled backwards, leaving its lower belly exposed. Recognizing the opportunity Musa had offered him; Riven rushed in and yanked his saber out of the trunk of that thing. He had missed so many opportunities with Musa, he wasn't going to miss that.

"Thanks," he grunted, not looking at her.

"We can take this thing down if we work together. I can't do another attack like I did with the other one, so we're going to be a team, got it?"

"Yeah," Riven nodded. "What's the plan?"

The tree recovered and rounded on the pair, but both Musa and Riven were ready for it. Shifting his grip on the hilt of his saber slightly, Riven dropped down, ready for his attack. All he needed to do was to wait for Musas command.

"Ready?" Musa whispered, her eyes locked on the tree.

"Yup."

"Just hold on a bit long," Musa told him. "Just a bit longer."

With an insane wail, the tree ripped out two more of its branches and flung them at the pair, who easily managed to avoid the flying pieces of wood. Musa was suddenly reminded of a film Bloom had forced them to watch about a girl with red shoes that went over the rainbow and met up with a bunch of weird characters. Two of those weird characters were two apple throwing trees which were pretty much a nicer version of this branch throwing tree. Musa probably would have laughed if it hadn't been so dangerous. Driven completely mad with dark magic and rage, the tree suddenly lunged at them, tearing up the earth and wailing terribly.

"Now!" Musa shouted.

Riven sprung forward ready to do some serious damage on this monster, and Musa focused her power on the saber in his hands. The blade became a deep purple than it normally was as a result of Muas' magic. The tree reached out one of its hands, but Riven easily parried it and swung his blade around to cut deep into the wood. With each smooth stroke Riven lashed across the trees body, Musas magic altered the sword, sending sonic blasts into the wood with each attack. Riven continued his savage assault, and with each hit the shock waves smashed deeper into the wicked trees soul. Musa could see cracks appearing in the trunk of the tree, and there was a red glow seeping out from inside.

"Musa! Move back!" Riven shouted, slamming his saber into the trees side. It couldn't take much more, and it was becoming desperate. Madly, it ripped more of its limbs off and hurled them away with no real direction.

"I'm not leaving you!" Musa told him sternly, and a fools hope fluttered in Rivens heart. He knew she didn't mean what he wished she meant, but it was nice to know she wasn't completely bitter about everything. If it had been Stella he had fought with (not that he'd ever go out with that loud mouth wench), she'd probably be on the trees side. But that didn't mean he was going to let her get hurt for the sake of him.

"Musa! Get out of here! It's too – "

"Riven!" Musa cut him off, but if she hadn't done it, the tree exploding would have. The tree couldn't seem to hold all the sound waves that was swelling inside it, and had erupted under the pressure. Riven was thrown backwards, and would have been impaled by the massive splinters if it hadn't been for Musa's fast thinking.

She threw herself at Riven, covering his body with her own, and quickly erecting a shield. She could feel her magic shutter under the force of the explosion, and she found herself clinging more desperately to the boy underneath her. Large stakes of wood half penetrated her shield, but the magic managed to stop them mere inches from the pair. The ground beneath them shook from the unleashed sound waves, and as Musa felt her magic start to falter, she closed her eyes tightly and held onto Riven firmly.

And then everything went still. Musa had never been a massive fan of the sound of silence, but there was something different this time. It was as if everything stopped for that one moment and was completely still. And then she heard it. The deep, rhythmical thudding of Rivens heart beat. It was beating hard, a clear result of him fighting, and Musa could feel him take in deep, shuttering breaths as she lay on top of him, her cheek pressed against his chest.

"Musa?" he whispered, almost begging her to answer. Slowly, Musa opened her eyes and lifted her head in met Rivens worried gaze. He instantly dropped his eyes, unable to look into those navy orbs and see the fear he was certain would be there highlighting his shame. But then he felt her fingertips lightly touching his face as if Musa physically needed assurance that he was still there, and Riven couldn't help but look at her.

And when their eyes did meet, Rivens world melted away. He forgot all about everything; about Darcy, about the fight, about the numerous bruises and abrasions he had all over his body. All he could think of was the beautiful face above him, and the way it lack any fear or hate like he expected. Instead, Musa wore a look a love and relief, and she couldn't take her eyes off of him.

In that one moment, both felt a faint flutter of hope that they might still have something between them despite all the horrible things that had happened that night. They had one moment of peace before hell crashed back down upon them.

* * *

_TBC._


	10. Seven Deadly Sins

_Originally, I had no idea what to put in this chapter, but then for some unknown reason I got thinking about the Seven Deadly Sins and I fell in love with the idea of relating it to Darcy. I think it gives her some depth and motivation. She's not just out and out evil; she's seven levels of evil people. And don't you forget it._

_

* * *

_

Throughout her life, Darcy had practiced the Seven Deadly Sins with an almost fanatical obedience. Barely an hour would go by without her committing at least one. She was excessively proud and she would forfeit her pride for nothing and no one. At least once every week, she gave into gluttony and drank for too much since there really wasn't anything else to do while she was at school and at Shadow Haunt. Those months sober in the Realm of Realix had been hell on her and her sisters. She'd spent hours lazing about in sloth, and she had taken so many lovers just like Riven to satisfy her lust.

But as she saw the way Riven was looking at Musa, she felt the claws of envy dig deeply into her very being. Darcy just couldn't understand it. She could offer Riven everything he ever wanted; power, strength, and sexual satisfactions and yet he still wanted to be with that loser fairy. It just didn't make sense. What did Musa have that Darcy couldn't offer? Love? Darcy offered love with all its attributes. She'd give him love with no limitations, not like Miss Chastity down there.

What else did Musa have? Music? Sure, Riven liked music. Hell, it was impossible to name one person in the history of the universe that didn't like at least one style of music, but it wasn't a quality Riven necessarily desire to have in his partners. And it wasn't as if Musa was better looking than Darcy that was for sure. Darcy had a fantastic body and she wasn't afraid to flaunt it. Musa, however, always kept her body hidden under all those baggy jeans and the likes when she wasn't in her Winx form. Her hair had become slight less ridiculous, but it was still nothing compared to Darcy's long, golden tresses. What kind of teenager in their right mind would wear their hair in pigtails? She looked like she was twelve for crying out loud.

And her fashion taste . . . _argh! _Darcy couldn't believe Musa even dare to go outside most of the time. Darcy had followed Stormy to the concert at Red Fountain where Musa had performed and Darcy had seen the Princess dressed in that ridiculous outfit. Stormy and Darcy had been arguing then, so Darcy had been too proud to help her sister. Plus, it was rather entertain to see her sister get beaten by someone who dressed that badly.

Every way Darcy looked at it, she just couldn't see why Riven would want that fairy over her. She knew Riven was a rebel, but that doesn't mean he's able to rebel against the laws of nature and basic attraction. Even the Trix weren't above basic instincts.

Darcy was furious. Out of all the Seven Deady Sins, she experienced envy the least. For what reason did she have to be jealous of anyone else? She was beautiful. She had killer abs. Her ass was perfection. She had been one of the three most popular and feared witches at Cloud Tower. She was yet to meet another to rival her in the dark spell casting. She had everything.

Everything, that is, except Riven. Musa had him, and it made Darcy so envious it was hard for her to even breathe as she watched them. And in that fury, Darcy made the transaction between that foreign sin to one she loved to experience as often as she could.

Wrath.

"I've had enough of this playing around!" she screeched, flying down to rip Musa off Riven by the hair. The fairy screamed as Darcy threw her to the ground. "Dark Wave!"

Musa cried out as the dark attack hit her, and that made Darcy feel a little better. Her joy was short lived, however.

"Boogie Blaster!"

Mustering her rapidly draining strength, Darcy took to the skies again to avoid the bulk of the attack. But since she did not have enough to power to withdraw and defend herself, Darcy felt her legs get burnt by the winx power.

"You're going to pay for that!" Darcy snarled, trying to stop her body from shaking due to the pain and exhaustion. She was not going to give her enemy the satisfaction of knowing she was suffering from their attacks as much as she was hurting them. She quickly gathering a ball of dark energy in he first, Darcy cast it down towards the fairy who still hadn't been able to collect herself.

"Darcy!" Riven spat as swung his saber around to deflect the spell away from the fairy of his affection. Darcy felt her jealousy and anger flare up as he purposely place him self between the two girls, saber raised to defend himself and Musa from any attacks Darcy might cast their way. "This is between me and you! Leave her out of it!"

"But she is a part of this, puppy dog! You made her a part of this when you tried to replace me with her! And I won't be so casually cast aside!" Darcy screamed, hurling another attack in his direction. Riven managed to block most of the dark magic, but a fraction of the attack sparked off the blade, stinging into his face. Rivens free hand flew to his face out a pure reaction and he weakened the grip he had on the hilt of his saber. Darcy saw her opportunity.

Like so many times before, Darcy change her plans on what she wanted to do with Riven. Over the last year, Darcy had been shifting to and from wanting to kill Riven to just plain wanting him. She had thought she had everything planned; crush Musa and then take Riven back as her slave. She would have eventually turned his heart back to darkness, and he would be born again with no memory of his life before her.

He would be an instrument of pure evil, and she would be the one controlling him.

But when Darcy had seen how painfully obvious his feeling were Musa, she had begun to doubt if she could ever control Riven as completely as she desired. That loser fairy could give him the strength to resist her, so was it even worth the risk of trying to enslave him? Darcy hated doubting herself, and she blamed it all on Riven, and when combined with her fury of him choosing Musa over him, Darcy altered her plans.

She wanted them _both_ dead. If she couldn't have what she wanted, she was going to deny them their desires too.

"_Deadly Nightshade!!"_

* * *

_Again, I didn't know what to put in this chapter which is why it's a little shorter then the rest. And although I may not agree with the pigtails remark, I totally argee with the bad f__ashion taste for the concert for the Red Fountain concert comment. She looked ridiculous! Just that beanie! It didn't suit her! And that vest thing! She looked like she had just come in from doing road work with the council! Argh! Just . . . NO! _

TBC.


	11. Deadly Nightshade

_The Eiffel Tower has 1792 steps._

* * *

Musa saw the attack heading straight towards Riven and felt her heart stop. Ignoring the pain surging through her body, Musa sprung to her feet and bolted over to Riven, thrusting a shield out in front of him. She wrapped her arms around his waist in an attempt to stop her momentum, but there was no real reason for it. As soon as Darcy's powerful attack hit Musa's shield, the explosion from the impact was enough to send both Musa and Riven hurling to the ground. The shield wavered slightly, and Darcy's attack continued to try and force its way past. Darcy kept on feeding the attack, making it start to rage out of control. 

"I can't keep this shield up for long!" Musa strained through gritted teeth. She couldn't remember ever being this exhausted in a battle, and she knew she couldn't take much more.

"Then drop the damn thing and fly out of here while you've got the strength!" Riven ordered her.

"I'm not leaving you!"

"Just do it Musa! You've got to get yourself out of here while you can! It's okay! I don't care what happens to me!"

"But I do!" Musa cried out, looking at him with anguish in her eyes from the very thought of leaving him here with this witch. "She'll kill you Riven, or change you into something you don't want to be like she did two years ago! I know you're not that person!"

"Just leave! I'm not worth it!"

"Damn it Riven! You are!" Musa fumed, suddenly furious with him for being so stubborn. If she didn't need to have her hands raised in order to uphold the shield she defiantly would have hit him for that comment. "I know you! No matter what Darcy's got you thinking over the last few weeks, you're a good person! And you're important to a lot of people! To Helia and the rest of your friends! To the Winx Club! To me, damn it! So stop being so selfish and think about us before you let your ex kill you!"

"Stop being idiotic, Musa! You can get out of here! Now go!"

"I can't get out of here because I can't fly and even if I could I wouldn't go!"

"Musa," Riven begged. "I can't let Darcy hurt you."

Musa smiled weakly. Risking everything, she dropped one of her hands from the shield and softly covered his hand with hers. She couldn't hold that shield much longer and all she wanted was the comfort that contact with the man she loved could offer. As her skin touched his, she felt her power surge slightly despite her fatigue, granting her the strength she desperatly needed at this point. "I'm not leaving you."

Riven sighed deeply and shook his head in disbelief, but he couldn't deny to himself that he was pleased she hadn't deserted him like people in the past had done. Maybe they still had something after all.

"All right, what do we do?" he questioned, noticing how the shield was starting to bend inwards under the force of the Deadly Nightshade. They couldn't stay hidden under the shield for much longer. They needed a plan of attack. "Can you maybe get around her attack and hit her with your magic?"

"I don't think so. That spells so powerful she can use it as both offensive and defense. Her attack is like a shield in itself. And I can't cast another spell without dropping the shield."

"Drop it."

"No! Besides, it won't be able to get past her attack."

"Maybe I could throw my saber at her or something?" Riven thought out loud. He knew how ridiculous that sounded, but he was all out of ideas. And if there was one thing he hated it was not knowing how to take his enemy down.

"Again, it won't be able to get past her attack. And look at yourself. Do you really think you're in any shape to fight?"

Riven looked down at his body, and he saw Musa had a point. His body was covered in deep, indigo bruises from Darcy's dark attacks. He had picked up quiet a few scratches and gashes from his run in with those monster trees. He could still feel blood trickling down his face from the cut on his forehead from when he had head-butted the tree with the club and he knew he would definitely need stitches. He had several large splinters in his flesh including one in his upper left arm from him riding too fast through the undergrowth. Blood still faintly flowed from the wound and dripped down his arm.

The blood. The wound on his left arm. Darcy. It all seemed so familiar for some reason. And then, he began to recall a night the year before when Darcy had snuck into his room seeking some entertainment for the night and ended put having to face Sky, Brandon, Helia and Timmy.

**Flashback **

_Darcy extended her right hand over in Riven's direction, and the arrogant warrior flinched as though hit._

"_It's witch kickin' time," Brandon grinned, raising his green broad sword ready to attack._

"_I wouldn't," Darcy warned calmly. _

"_Yeah, you wish!" Brandon cried. With a clean swipe, the tip of Brandon's sword cut through Darcy's upper left arm. Not enough to cause any real damage – she was still a girl after all – but enough to cause her to bleed._

_Darcy screamed in pain, but she did not lower her right arm. Simultaneously, Riven reacted the same way, clutching his upper left arm._

"_What happened?" Sky asked, alarmed at his friends strange behavior. _

_Timmy suddenly gasped. "Riven's bleeding." _

_Indeed, flowing between Riven's fingers was a crimson liquid. Blood ran down Darcy's left arm from an identical wound. _

"_Are minds are link," Darcy told them coldly. "Attack me if you want, but what you do to me you do to your friend."_

**End Flashback **

It was the mind link that Darcy had set up while they were dating so they communicate mentally over distance. He had used it to report his findings on Bloom and the others, and Darcy used it whenever she wanted to call him to her bedroom. Saladin had told him how dangerous having a link like that could be, especially since Darcy had never closed it. She could have reopened it at any time and taken over his mind, and that had been exactly was she had tried to do that night she snuck into his room. Saladin had disengaged the link so no one would be able to access it from the outside, but he wasn't able to remove it since he had said it might affect Rivens state of mind too dramatically. These side affect could have been anywhere between losing the ability to smell or taste certain things to wiping Rivens mind completely. So, instead Saladin had confined the link deep inside Rivens mind.

It was a long shot, but maybe Riven would be able to reopen the link and act as a gateway to attack Darcy.

Riven shut his eyes and retried deep within himself. He gently put his fingertips of one of his hands to his temple in the same way he had always opened the link while he and Darcy were together. Everything was dark, so Riven began his search cautiously. He lightly brushed over faint memories that he had buried deep within his mind in an attempt to avoid them. Most of them where from his childhood. He had forgotten a lot of them over the years, so he didn't dwell on them too long. He had been happy ignoring that fact that they had ever occurred. But there were a few from his sophomore year when he betrayed all his friends to be with Darcy. Those memories had a lot more clarity than the others, particularly the one when he had laughed at Musa begging him for help.

It wasn't a pleasant trip down memory lane.

And then he saw it. He had first noticed the pale purple glow that it gave off, and had followed it until he was mentally standing in front of the link. It had changed itself over the time encaged in Rivens mind so now it now resembled some kind of plant. Its leaves were dark, and it was in full bloom with tiny, purple flowers. Each flower had five petals and a yellow beak protruding out from the center, and was a beautiful soft purple colour. Riven had seen this kind of plant in class when they had been studying the medical and toxic properties in plants.

Deadly Nightshade.

Riven lightly touched the plant, and instantly a swirling purple portal open up to him. In the center of the portal was Darcy. He could see her doubling her attack and he could also see the effort it took.

Riven opened his eyes, breaking off his contact with the link. "Musa. I know a way we can beat her. You need to attack me."

"What?" Musa gasped. She was pale, shaking and sweating under the effort to maintain the shield that was protecting her and Riven. Darcys attack continued to strain against the shield.

"I don't have time to really explain, but I can link my mind with Darcy's and any injury either one of us sustains the other will experience because their mind makes it real. Like in that movie Bloom made us watch; The Matrix."

"I never understood that movie!"

"It doesn't matter! Look, all you need to do is drop the shield and attack me with some of your magic. Darcy's attack will hurt her, but not enough. It's her magic so she's slightly immune to it. It's the only way we can beat her."

Tears welled in Musa's eyes. "Riven. I-I can't! Please! I-I just – "

"Musa! It's the only way! On my go, just do it!"

"Riven," Musa gasped. Tears were running down her cheeks and Riven could see the pain in her eyes, but she seemed to understand that they were all out of options. Reluctantly, she nodded.

Riven looked at her one last time before closing his eyes and lifting his fingertips to his temple. The world went dark around him, and he was suddenly extremely cold. The mind link loomed in front of him. The plant seemed to know what was coming and had come alive. Its long vine like branches reached out and wrapped themselves around his body loosely. Draped in the link, Riven willed it to open.

The portal swirled in front of him, and Darcy was there in the center of it. She knew all about hypnotization and mind control, so she was aware of Rivens presence in her mind. She seemed a little taken back, and stared at him in shock. For a second Riven almost pitied her for what he was about to do to her. Riven never really saw her as evil like his friends did. She was just an emotionally confused girl underneath it all being driven by her sisters and her heritage. Whenever she was alone with him Darcy had almost behaved like a normal person would. By rejecting her, Riven knew he had denied her every chance at normality.

But he wasn't doing this for his own freedom, or because he wanted to see Darcy suffer. He was doing this for Musa. He knew he was possibly facing his death. He was not in the best shape to survive an attack of this intensity and Darcy was even more exhausted. Even if just one of them didn't survive, the other would die along with them. That's how the mind link worked. But it would be worth it.

Musa was his life, and he'd gladly give his own to protect her. Musa had told him not to be selfish and toss his life away so casually, but he figured he was being less selfish by letting Musa live. There was no way she could maintain that shield any longer, and she had more to live for than him. Her friends would never be able to recover if she was gone, and her father wouldn't be able to go on after losing his daughter as well as his beloved wife. And Riven couldn't live with himself if he was to somehow survive and she didn't.

He loved her, and he was willing to risk everything for that love, even his own life. Gripping the Deadly Nightshade tightly and making sure the link was secure, Riven knew he was ready.

"Musa! Now!

* * *

_I had nothing to write at the top of this and felt I needed to say something before you leapt into the next chapter. Thus, the Eiffel Tower has 1792 steps. _

_The plant I'm describing is actually a plant called bittersweet nightshade which is still part of the nightshade family. The true "deadly nightshade" of literature and lore, is the poisonous belladonna plant (Atropa belladonna). All parts of the belladonna plant contain the poison atropine. Bittersweet nightshade isn't deadly but it's not good for you. The plant contains small amounts of another chemical, solanine, and perhaps others, which have stronger, potentially toxic effects on the body. Like many plants containing chemicals that are potentially toxic to us, bittersweet nightshade has had some medicinal uses in the past. It has been used externally to treat skin problems, including warts, infected toenails or fingernails, tumors, and eczema. It has also served as an ingredient in remedies for rheumatism, kidney problems, and respiratory ailments such as bronchitis, asthma, and whooping cough. It was also worn to ward off the effects of witchcraft. They even put it one their pets._

_There's some pointless information just there. And now you've read it, you're stuck with it. Suffer! _

_Okay, also I'm totally getting the hint that a lot of you guys don't know what I'm getting at in Chapter 5 'Life's a Drag' with the whole Priscilla Queen of the Desert thing, which is cool since it is kind of an Australian movie. Basically, **The Adventures of Priscilla: Queen of the Desert** is a 1994 Australian film about two drag queens (Hugo Weaving – Agent Smith from The Matrix, and Guy Pearce - L.A. Confidential, Ravenous, Rules of Engagement, Memento, The Count of Monte Cristo, and The Time Machine) and a transsexual woman driving across the outback from Sydney to Alice Springs (a remote Australian city in the middle of the desert) in a large bus they have named Priscilla. _

_Probably the most famous scene involves Guy Pearce's character dressed in a sliver dress with the make-up and a big feather headdress sitting on a giant silver stiletto shoe onto of the bus (Priscilla) lip-syncing to an opera song as they drive through the desert with this big, silver dress flying behind them like a banner. Like I said, I have no idea why it's so popular but I can't separate anyone with the name Priscilla form that movie. Also, I'm sure the world will keep on turning if you never see it, so don' think that you're missing out on anything major. In fact, the only thing that I thought was great about that movie was that it gave way to one of Australia's best commercials for bathroom cleaner I have ever seen. Oh, and the costumes are pretty good too._

_TBC._


	12. Revelations

_I've just got to say that I am so proud of the last thing Darcy says to Riven. I was faced with the dilemma of how do I get Darcy to go away and stay gone, and I think I hit pretty close to the mark. And I am in love with what she says before she goes, so while you read those . . . what is it? Eight words? That sounds right. As you read those eight words, just know that I'm in the great land down under swelling with pride._

_

* * *

_

Musa had been studying Rivens face to memory as he connected himself to the mental link with Darcy. She had a feeling that this was going to be dangerous, but Riven hadn't given her time to get all the information. He had already made up his mind it seemed, and Musa couldn't change it not matter how hard she argued. They were out of time and options.

As Musa waited for Rivens command, she found herself regretting so much about her relationship with Riven. She wished she would have told him how she felt about him earlier and then maybe they would have been together longer. She wished she would have trusted her feelings for him and avoided that whole episode with Jared. She wished she would have believed more in their relationship instead of falling so easily into Darcy's mind games. She wished she could go back and not be so shy around him. She wished she'd never said that comment about his family and hurt in so deeply. She wished she had told him she loved or kissed him or done something before he had begun establishing the link.

But all those opportunities were lost to her now, and all she could do was hope for Rivens plan to come out good. She felt sick to her stomach from knowing what Riven expected her to do. All she could do was to trust in Riven. But even that didn't comfort her or prepare her for when Riven finally gave the word.

"Musa! Now!"

Flinging herself away from the impact zone, Musa dropped the shield she had tried so hard to maintain. The blackness completely engulfed Riven, and she saw Darcy go ridged in pain. Trying to block it all out Musa focus her power. It wouldn't work if it was just Darcy's magic and Riven would go through all that for nothing. As much as it killed her, Musa knew this was the only way.

"Boogie Blaster!"

As Musa's magic sunk into the blackness that surrounded Riven, Musa could see the sudden change in the magic. The darkness shuttered, and then started to expand and contact, and then expand again. Blazing red energy juxtaposed the blackness and the air seemed to come alive, simmering and crackling around Musa.

In the sky, Darcy was also surrounded by crackling black, purple and red energy as if she was caught in a strange, multi coloured lightning storm. Her back was arched in pain, and she was screaming in unspeakable agony. Her dark magic cut deep into her skin, leaving deep purple bandings across her pale skin, and Musa's attack left big red burns in her flesh. A pale shroud fell across her body, plunging her into a terrible coldness, and her ears were ringing from Musa's magic.

As the shroud descended onto Darcy, the blackness that had surrounded Riven lifted slightly and Musa could see him. The magical squall he was caught in was intense enough to levitate him off the ground slightly, and his body was twisted from the torture he was experiencing. His already injured body was suffering further, and he was beyond crying out in pain. His mind reeling as his mind and Darcy's crashed against each others. Riven felt like he was drowning in the deluge of memories, both his and Darcy's, which came flooding upon him.

It was so overwhelming he felt himself slipping into a never ending blackness.

Musa felt the magical energy start to burn her skin, but she refused to move any further from Riven then she already was. The air was becoming more dangerous as the two magical forces began to swell. Darcy continued to hang in the air, no longer screaming due to the fact that she was in so much pain she couldn't find her voice. It was a ghastly sight.

And then the powers exploded, sending the three people flying and knocking them all unconscious.

* * *

Every inch of Darcy's body screamed in agony as she slowly regained consciousness. Never before had she experienced pain like that, but then again, never before had someone used her powers against her. She was impossibly weak, but she knew she couldn't stay here. Musa's loser friends had seen her take Musa, and they knew she was going to go after Riven. That meant they would have contacted that Red Fountain wonnabe's and they'd all be searching for them. Darcy couldn't be here when they arrived. 

Forcing herself to stand on unstable legs, Darcy paused to calculate how much power she had left. About enough to conjure one spell. That didn't do her any good if the Winx Club and their pathetic boy toys showed up. She needed to get out of here, and the fastest way was with a teleportation spell.

But then, lying across the clearing, she saw the unmoving form of Musa. Darcy no longer had the energy to ever feel any anger towards the fairy, but she did contemplate using her last spell to destroy that pixie. It would be easy. Musa had transformed back from her Winx form, so she was completely vulnerable. The only real down side was it would mean Darcy would have to walk home, but it would be worth it. The Winx Club would never be able to recover from that grief, and it would make Riven suffer.

Upon thinking of her ex, Darcy scanned the clearing for him. She found him lying in the dark shadows of the forest and staggered over to him. He was a sight. Blood and all kinds of injuries covered every inch of his body. Darcy was surprised he hadn't been killed in the explosion, but that only left her with the question of what was she going to do with him now?

Take him back with her? She didn't have the strength to teleport them both. Leave him here? No, too unsatisfying. Kill him? She couldn't think of a reason too. But she also couldn't find a reason not too.

"What a troublesome puppy you are," she told his still form. She had gone through so much time and effort for him and again he rejected her. He cast her aside as if she was nothing. He had violated her mind and was her downfall.

He had _humiliated _her.

Despite her weariness, Darcy felt an insane amount of anger and wrath build up inside her. That pathetic boy had made a fool out of her. She had given up everything for him; her heart, her image, her pride, and he had thrown it in her face. What had he done to her?

It was then that Darcy had a sickening revelation; he had the advantage over her. All this time she had thought she had control over him, and yet he had altered her way of thinking in so many ways it was ridiculous. One comment about Icy had changed her views on her sisters. Two words had caused her to become so infatuated that she was willing to stop at nothing to have him again. One boy had become the very center of her world and her only motivation.

Riven was no longer her puppet. She was his.

Dacry started to hyperventilate at the very thought and she collapsed to her knees. It wasn't possible. It just wasn't possible. She could risk this getting out. She'd be ruined. Her sisters would never be able to trust her if she could become so easily distracted by a boy. There was only one thing for it. After tonight, she'd have to give up Riven and give him up completely. She could no longer obsess over winning his affection, or controlling him or even killing him. She couldn't think of him in any way. It was far too risky. She needed to have nothing to do with him. She needed to quit him.

Darcy was still struggling from the revelation when she heard a faint moan and sense movement form along side her. Turning her horrified face, her gold eyes locked with the violet ones of the boy who had caused this drama.

She needed to put a stop to it.

Crawling over to him like a cat stalking its pray, Darcy felt a thrill at the fearful way Riven watched her since he was too injured to move away. But that thrill was squashed by the slight glimmer of confidence, as if he was ready to accept any horror that she might unleash upon him. Darcy position herself so her face hung just over his, her golden eyes boring into him. And then she decided to voice the one thing she had always been too scared to ever say out loud before.

"I love you," she told him, dropping her face and brushing her lips across his gently. There was nothing dominating or hungry about that kiss like they usually were. Just soft, tender and loving. Her eyes, however, were cold when she drew back. "But I love me more."

And then, unleashing the last spell she could muster, Darcy let Rivens mind fill with darkness before getting to her feet and beginning the long walk home, leaving Riven staring blankly at the sky above.

* * *

"Riven," Musa whimpered when she finally came too. She was too weak to stand, so she prayed Riven was able to come to her aid. Her body and mind were still reeling from the explosion. "Riven . . . Help me . . . Riven . . . Please . . . ?" 

When she got no reply, Musa struggled to force herself into the sitting position and glanced at her surroundings. There was no sign of Darcy, but the entire clearing looked like it had been the site of a bush fire. The grass crackled underneath her as she shifted around to see if she could spot Riven.

"Oh please, don't let Darcy of taken him," she whispered to herself. And then, hidden in the shadows, she saw the motionless form of the man that she loved. Dragging herself over to him, Musa was panting by the time she was by his side. But no matter how heavily she needed to breathe, Musa clamped her mouth shut to try and stop the urge to be sick.

Riven was a mess. Blood was caked into his hair and over his flesh. He had several large wounds that needed immediate medical attention. His skin was a combination of black, indigo, purple, red and deathly white. His eyes were open and blank and he wasn't showing any signs of moving or waking up soon.

"Riven," Musa called, shaking him slightly. "Riven, wake up. C'mon. We need to get you to a doctor. Riven? Riven, please?"

He wasn't waking up.

Great silver tears fell from Musa's eyes and cascaded down her cheek. Her body trembled, but she didn't think it had anything to do with her exhaustion. Riven continued to stare with those horrible, lifeless eyes.

"Riven! Riven please! Wake up!"

He still didn't respond.

Musa looked around her hopelessly, her body shaking as her emotions threatened to overwhelm her. Where were her girls? Where were the Red Fountain boys? They were supposed to be heroes in training, and she was someone who needed rescuing.

"Somebody help me!" Musa shouted out to the night. The only one who heard her was the trees, and they didn't look like they were going to offer her any assistance. "Somebody! Anybody! Please!"

The only answer was the slightly blowing wind that drifted through the trees. Finally, crying out in anguish, Musa collapsed into Rivens chest. He made no move to comfort her, and Musa's body continued to heave with deep, shuttering sobs.

* * *

_TBC._


	13. The Atropa Curse

_The first half of this chapter is me just making up stuff to delay the others getting to them. I mean, they've got all this equipment and the Pixie of Portals and they still can't find them in time, so I had to come up with a few hurdles for them. So all that crap about pixies and planet's life force is just a bunch of bull to waste time. To be honest, the pixies annoy me. I just don't like 'em. Lockette's a wuss, Amore's so lovey dovey its sickening. Digit looks cool, but I want to strangle her with her know-it-all attitude. Chatta . . . argh! She's so loud. Tune looks good as well, but she'd a real stick in the mud and a bossy boots. And then there's Piff . . . what is with that thing. It does nothing! I've got problems with the pixies. If fact they kind of vanish towards the end of this story. _

_Completely vanished, like an old oak table. _

_Go Black Adder!_

* * *

After Darcy had kidnapped Musa, the Winx Clubs first plan of action was to inform Mrs. Faragonda and get in contact with the Red Fountain boys. There was no way they would be able to track Darcy down on their own, and they might have needed some back up when they finally found the witch. Their search started out slow since they were relying on the boys for transport and they had to travel from Red Fountain. Stella had nearly ripped into the boys for their tardiness, but she decided cut them some slack when she saw that they were just as anxious to find their missing friends and the girls were. Mrs. Faragonda and Headmaster Saladin accompanied them incase Darcy proved to be difficult to handle.

They began the search with Timmy managing to track down a recent trail of Rivens bike, but he soon lost the signal which he gravely pointed out was a sign of a high probability that the bike had been trashed some how. The trail had lead them into the woods, so the boys had made low sweeps of the forest to see if they could spot them from the air, but the thick tree canopy made it impossible for them to find anything. Flora tried to use her voice of nature, but for some reason she said the trees weren't letting her communicate with them. Lockette, the Pixie of Portals, proved to be the best source of direction, though even her magic didn't seem as reliable as it usually was which had flustered the pixie greatly.

"I don't understand!" Lockette half wailed as her wand was suddenly veered in the opposite direction of that in which it had been pointing before. "It's like there's something throwing my sense of direction off."

"Can that happen?" Bloom asked, getting more worried for her friends by the second.

"It sure can!" Chatta told them in a rather out of place enthusiasm. "But don't worry! We'll find them!"

"Part of a pixies power comes from a planets life force. If something alters that force, our power can become some what unreliable," Digit explained to them evenly. Virtually everyone found her answer to be better than Chatta's.

"How can you alter a planets life force?" Brandon asked, fiddling with his uniform in an effort to try and keep his mind busy. It wasn't working very well.

"By creating something that isn't meant to exist or is an abomination against the universe," Amore answered. "There are some things that should not be tampered with and some acts that should not be committed under no circumstances. A planet or a realm has a life of its own and can be affected by deeply by certain things."

"I guess that my magic's being thrown off by this planet hurting," Lockette sighed.

"But what could be hurting it?" Sky questioned.

"I believe it might have something to do with Flora not being able to connect with the voice of nature," Faragonda said gravely as she stared out of the window trying to find some sign of their missing students.

With no real other option, the ship continued to go in Lockettes uncertain navigation, and they continued to come up empty handed. Everyone started to become irritable as time continued to slip past them, till Tunes head suddenly shot up.

"Stop!" she ordered briskly and rather rudely, but there was no time for etiquette when her fairy was missing. She pointed her umbrella back the way they had come. "They're over there. Turn around! Go back!"

"How do you know?" Timmy questioned, but he was already programming the ship to turn back the other way.

"Didn't you feel that?"

"Feel what?" Techna asked the Pixie of Manners.

"That attack. It was Musa. I am certain of it," Tune informed them with such confidence that everyone could help but take her word. "While I admit I've never felt her conjure that attack before, it's her. I know it."

Timmy's fingertips flew over the control panel as Brandon steered the ship in the direction Tune was pointing them. It took Timmy a few moments, but he was soon able to bring up three individuals on the ships thermal camera.

"There they are. Just up ahead. I'll be able to get there in – "

Suddenly the ships controls jerked madly out of control and the ship shuttered as a strange wave of energy hit them. The control panels spark and then went dead and the ship plummeted towards the ground.

"Quickly girls. We need to create a shield and keep this ship in the air," Mrs. Faragonda ordered, already gathering her power. With the power of the Winx Club and their headmistress, the ship was cocooned in a protective bubble in the sky. The only limitation was that they weren't able to continue moving forward until the magical storm passed.

"What is it, Mrs. F?" Stella asked, watching the multi-coloured lightning outside. It was like nothing she had ever seen, and after battling Stormy, Stella though she had seen a fair share of magical lightning storms. But these bolts of energy were red, indigo, purple and a chilling black and they cracked and sizzled against one another almost as if they were fighting each other.

"I don't know," Mrs. Faragonda confessed. "But I don't like it. Boys! I want this ship ready to fly as soon as this storm dies down!"

"Yes ma'am."

"Can't we just fly out there and go help them?" Layla asked, ready to rip Darcy's hair out.

"No. I want no one out there with this kind of energy flying around. There's too much distance between us and the others and I will not allow you to expose yourselves trying to get to them."

"But they could be in trouble!" Flora objected.

"And you could be too if you go out there," Saladin pointed out. "What's the point of a rescue mission if it's the rescue party that needs rescuing?"

The old man probably would have been strangled by the students despite his logical thinking it a sudden explosion hadn't rocked the air. The protective bubble failed, and the ship was hurled backwards before crashing to the ground. By the time everyone was confirmed to be alright and the boys got the engines back on line, everyone had gotten that sinking feeling that something wasn't right.

"The trees are so angry," Flora shuttered as the stepped out into the woods not far from the last confirmed location of the three figures. The full moon continued to light their night, but it was eerily quiet.

"I've got a really bad feeling," Bloom admitted. She was grateful Sky had come with her when they had split up into search groups. Reaching through the darkness, her hand found his and gripped it for reassurance.

"Heroics 101; always keep a positive attitude," Sky told her though he and the same feeling as her.

"What was that?" Flora suddenly gasped.

"You heard it too?" Helia questioned, but he was quickly shushed by the others. Faintly, the four could make out the sound of someone crying.

"Musa!" Bloom called out, forgetting about any threat that Darcy might offer, she took off towards the sound, the others close on her heels. Half of her hoped Darcy was still here so she could make that witch suffer for everything she had done, but she knew the main thing was finding Musa and Riven and getting them safe. "Musa! Answer me!"

"Bloom?" a voice called back weakly. Bloom continued to head towards the voice, ignoring the way the tree branches scratched into her skin. And when she thought she saw a clearing in front of her, she found Musa standing just inside the tree line.

Musa's hair was a mess and the clothes she had worn to her date with Riven were ripped and singed. Her eyes were red and her cheeks were tearstained. There were several cuts and scraps on her body, but none of them seemed large enough to account for all the blood that was on her front. With a low cry, Musa rushed into Blooms arms and broke down into deep, tearing, hysterical tears.

"Shh. It's okay sweetie. We're here now," Bloom cooed as she tried to comfort her friend, but it seemed useless. The other three also tried to calm her down, knowing that all their attention needed to be focus on the broken fairy despite the fact that they were still missing one student.

And then, out of Musa's crying, she began to babble. At first it was so incoherent no one could follow it, but was her words became clearer, they all felt their blood freeze.

"I-It's all my f-fault! M-My f-f-fault!" Musa wailed. "I'm so sorry! I should have know! I didn't mean it! Darcy! D-Darcy . . . It's my fault. H-He's not waking up!" Musa cried before breaking down again. Sky was the first to react. Turning towards the clearing, he bolted away from the hysterical fairy, praying she was wrong. But then he saw Rivens still body and blank eyes and he froze.

"No. N-No," he stuttered, refusing to accept what was lying before him. "I-It can't be."

And then Helia was there, crouching down alongside his roommate, his fingertips searching his throat desperately for a pulse. Sky watched the whole thing too deep in shock to even properly comprehend what was going on around him. He barely noticed Timmy and Brandon join him. The rest of the girls were off with Musa. Brandon put a supportive hand on Sky's shoulder, but it did little to comfort both of them. Timmy brushed Riven's unseeing eyes closed, unable to bear looking at them any longer.

Helia felt sick as he couldn't find a pulse. It wasn't possible. It wasn't fair. How could Riven be there one minute and gone the next? How could he look fine when he had left to go pick up Musa earlier that night and then end up like this? It wasn't fair! It was –

Helias breathe caught as he felt a faint fluttering against his finger tips. It was only light and somewhat uneven, but there was no denying what it was.

"I've got a pulse!" Helia exclaimed, shaking Sky out of his shock. Helia looked up and his friends, his eyes swimming in tears of happiness. For the rest of his life, Sky would never forget the way Helia look or the way he said the next two words. "He's alive."

Their jubilation was brief, however, as Saladin marched in and ordered them to give the boy some air. He glanced at the more major wounds Riven had the commanded the boys to treat him with the first aid them had learned in class. Brandon was ripping his cape into bandages as Saladin placed a hand on Rivens bloodied forehead. With a hiss, the headmaster removed his hand quickly as if burnt.

"What's wrong?" Mrs. Faragonda asked, walking over with her students following, Musa cradled in their arms. Saladin didn't respond, but rather looked at her gravely. Faragonda's eyes narrowed and she to place her hand on Rivens forehead. Her hand was also snatched back, her face livid. "That's disgusting! How could anyone do that to a person? I thought those witches had at least some restraint! How did she even learn that?"

"What did she do?" Helia demanded, he usual politeness forgotten.

"Darcy put a spell on him," Faragonda said, her eyes blazing. "The Atropa Curse."

"I've never heard of that curse before," Techna admitted.

"I doubt you would have. It's one of the few spells that are forbidden by law to conjure. It traps its victims within their own minds, tormenting them with things that they can't separate from reality since their mind makes it real. These nightmares will torture them constantly, eventually either driving them mad or killing them from exhaustion."

"You can fix it? Right?" Musa begged. Faragonda looked at her hard.

"It is fixable, but I think you need some rest," she suggest with a slight flick of her wrist. Musa's eyes rolled back into her head and she would have collapsed if her friends hadn't caught her. "Girls, take Musa back to the ship and wait there for us. You boy should probably go with them. Most people find this treatment rather distressing."

"We're not going anywhere," Brandon said stubbornly, and the rest of the boys nodded in agreement. The girls already started back towards the ship.

"It's your decision," Saladin told them. "Now please move back a bit. We don't need you getting hurt accidentally. And I think you boys should be warned; this may not be enough to save his mind."

Brandon gasped, the urge to throw up almost overwhelming. "But you just said – "

"I know what I said," Faragonda said sternly. "Our concern was Musa's wellbeing. She was hysterical enough as it is and we don't need to cause her any more distress. Now if you excuse me, I have more pressing matters."

The first thing Faragonda did was strengthen Riven's pulse and breathing. She took a strip of Brandon's cape that they were using for bandages and gagged Rivens mouth with it. And then Saladin placed his had on Riven's forehead and kept it there this time.

Riven's reaction was immediate. His body went ridged and started to seize. None of the Red Fountain boys had ever actually seen anyone have a seizure before, so it freaked them out much more then they expected it to. It was scary to see their friends body thrashing uncontrollably looking as though it was going through an exorcism. Both Saladin and Faragonda seemed calm, which only seemed to add to the four boy's distress.

It continued one like this for sometime, and no matter how badly the boys wanted to look away from their friends suffering, they couldn't avert their eyes. Rivens face was contorted into a look of agony and his seizures become more and more aggressive.

"Stop it!" Timmy finally snapped, his voice wavering. "You're hurting him."

"It has to be done. It's the only way," Faragonda told him, her eyes not leaving the convulsing boy. She knew Saladin needed to break Rivens mind from the curse, and that the curse was not going to release its victim without a fight. Sweat was gathering on Saladin's forehead, and his breathing was become ragged.

And then, with a deep sigh, Saladin pulled back and almost collapsed. Riven stopped seizing, though his hands and neck continued to twitch slightly. His friends were instantly by his side, searching his face for some kind of life. And then, briefly, his eyes half opened and his unfocused violet eyes glanced about him then closed.

* * *

_So she didn't kill him after all. But did you guys honestly think I would do that to him? I'm not that cruel. Whenever I borrow something from someone I always return it in pretty much the same condition I got them in. I thought I'd just give you all a bit of a fright and blame it all on Musa's exhausted and hysterical mind. But just because I didn't kill Riven, doesn't mean we'll have a fiary tale ending, now does it? _

_Originally I had a longer version of this chapter where the mind link becomes aware of its existence and materializes itself in Rivens mind so Saladin and Faragonda have this huge, psychic battle in battle on the mental plain with something that is basically the love child between Riven and Darcy's mind. But when I was writing it I got confused, and if the author has no idea what they're talking about what hope does the audience have? The only thing I really like about it was the image I had in mind for the link which I named Deadly Nightshade. It was an androgynous being with hair the same length as Darcy's but with Rivens colour. And it's left eye was golden and the right eye was violet. But like I said, I liked the idea of it but it just didn't work and I'm pretty sure you just want me to come up with an ending and stop putting Riven and Musa though all forms of suffering. So, I content with putting Riven through a seizer, which are pretty freaky things to watch. _

_And if all of you remembered all the pointless information I've been feeding you, you'll all know that I named the Atropa_ _Curse after Atropa belladonna, which is the scientific name for that plant dead nightshade. TBC._


	14. It Doesn't Hurt

_Every year, the Moon moves a further 3.82cm from the Earth. Oh no! And now, back to the story . . .

* * *

_

"Are you sure about this?" Helia asked his roommate as the black haired specialist was getting ready to escort Flora to their formal dinner. It was Saturday and just over a week since Riven and Musa had their run in with Darcy. Under Nurse Ofelia's orders, Riven was supposed too have had several day of bed rest, but after two days of sleeping, he had gotten bored and decided to sneak out and go have dinner in the mess hall with the rest of the guys. His legs had buckled underneath him twice and had had almost collapsed a further six times before he walked calmly into the mess hall. The look of outrage on his friends' faces from seeing him out of bed made it all worth it, even if he did fall asleep at the table from exhausting himself.

Riven sighed and stared moodily at the cup of tea Helia had given him to try and stop the headaches Riven had been suffering from all week. Riven was surprised that this herbal stuff actually worked. But despite the fact his headache had lightened, his mood still stayed sour.

"I dunno," Riven admitted, looking at the suit that he had suffered going shopping with Musa and her friends two weeks ago to get for the dinner. It was still on its coat hanger and Riven was making no move to change that. "I guess the best thing I can do for her is to leave her alone."

"I have a feeling she might think differently about that," Helia said, running a brush through his long hair. He had spent the last week trying to convince Riven to talk to Musa, but his roommate was as stubborn as always.

"Look, I'm no good for her," Riven half snapped, lying back onto his bed. "I'm always hurting her."

"You couldn't have know Darcy would – "

"I knew Darcy was hanging around and I didn't tell anyone. It was my relationship with Musa that made Darcy attack her. It was my relationship with Darcy that hurt Musa so much in the past. And it's not always about Darcy. Musa's right, I jerk her back and forward so many times like I'm purposely trying to hurt her. Now I might be wrong, but I don't think that's how you're supposed to treat the people you care about like that."

"You don't treat her as badly as you think you do. That's just the impression Darcy gave you."

"It wasn't Darcy. Musa said it herself," Riven remarked glumly. Thoughts about that night out the gates of Alfea still kept Riven up at night, and no matter how many times his friends reminded him that it was mostly a result of Darcy's manipulation, that harsh exchanged seemed to continue in loops until it was madness in his head.

"She didn't mean it. She was angry and under Darcy's dark magic just like you were. I mean, come on, I don't believe everything you say you're going to do to me when we fight."

"It's different."

"How?"

"I'm not dating you," Riven spat. Why was Helia being so dense about this? Riven thought he was smart and yet he couldn't grasp the concept that he and Musa weren't meant to be together.

"Well, if you were dating me I can tell you I don't think I'd dump you over one mistake."

"First of all; it's never going to happen between us –"

"Damn," Helia said with immense sarcasm.

" – and what happened with Musa and me is so much more then my latest mistake. It's best if we just end it now," Riven sighed. That would be so much easier if everything didn't remind him of something about her and play her voice in his memories that was like music to his ears. Or if only he'd be able to stop finding her hairs on his shirts and think about of the soft way her pigtails would brush across his skin. He never realized it before, but somehow everything he owned smelt of her. The faint scent of her perfume on his pillow from the times they would hang out in his room and talk or make out kept him up at night almost as much as his guilt and nightmarish memories.

"Riven."

"Back off Helia. I'm doing the smart thing for once."

"Is it the smart thing?"

"Yeah."

"But what does you're heart tell you?"

Riven stared at his friend for a second. "That is the lamest thing I've ever heard you say."

"Well I'm willing to be lame if it means convincing you to get changed. We're leaving soon."

"Are you even listening to me? It's better for Musa if I have nothing to do with her."

"Okay, but someone needs to inform Musa of that fact."

"She'll get over it."

"I'm not so sure about that. Now get dressed, or we'll be late."

Riven just covered his face with his pillow and groaned.

* * *

Musa looked amazing. 

She wore a scarlet dress that Flora had found for her that complemented her greatly. It had spaghetti strings going over her shoulders and a straight cut neck line. The front of the dress reached her knees, but the back part of the skirt fell to the floor. Stella had done a fantastic job on her makeup, and Layla had done her hair in a way that not only looked great but reflected Musa's personality. Most of her long hair was loose to cater for the formal theme, but the top half had been pulled into two, spiky buns in the same places Musa normally had her pigtails.

But despite how good she looked, Musa felt miserable.

"I don't think I'm going to go," she told her friends as they put on the finishing touches while waiting for their dates to arrive. Normally she'd totally be up for an exam like this especially since it involved dancing, but right now she couldn't stand the thought of watching all those happy couples. Even though a week had past, she hadn't seen or spoken to Riven once, and that separation was making her melancholy. Her friends had tried to lighten her mood, but Musa knew there was only one person who could do that, and he seemed to be avoiding her.

"You can't pull out now," Techna objected. "We spent all day getting ready."

"I'm just not in the mood."

"Too bad, you're going," Bloom told her firmly as she fiddled with her hair.

"But I don't even have an escort."

"So, don't have one," Stella shrugged, applying another layer of lipstick. "You can be the independent 'I don't need a man' chick who's just up for a good time."

"Hey! How come when I wanted to be that independent 'I don't need a man' chick who's just up for a good time, you still made me get a date?" Layla growled at Stella.

"Because you needed a date."

"That's not an answer."

"So?"

"Just go and have a good time, sweetie," Flora smiled at Musa, ignoring her other two friends. The Fairy of Nature had secretly been trying to convince Riven to talk to Musa along with Helia, and she knew they were so close to getting him to come tonight.

"No. I'll just get a misadventure for the test. Miss Du Four said I didn't have to take it considering everything that's happened this week," Musa sighed, starting to remove her shoes.

"You've got to go," Flora told in an uncharacteristic sternness, placing her hands on Musa's to stop her undoing her shoes.

"Why? What's the point? I don't have a date to do the dancing with or to escort me when I do my entrance so I can't do the test. I just can't do it, that's that. I don't even know why I'm even wearing this stupid dress to begin with."

"You don't need a boy to wear a pretty dress," Bloom told her friend with an encouraging smile.

"Yeah, but I'm sure it doesn't hurt," a new voice said from the doorway. All six girls jumped and spun to see Riven leaning casually in the doorway, his arms folded. At the request of Miss Du Four, the boys had been asked to wear dinner suits instead of their normal school uniforms. The boys didn't seem too thrilled about it, but it did confirm one thing; all guys look great in suits, and Riven was no exception. "You're dates are downstairs."

It was polite, but it was a dismissal none the less. After casting a few sly smiles to Musa, the Winx Club made there way out of the room. Most of them grinned warmly at Riven as they passed him, though Layla did have a bit of steel in her eyes.

"Don't you dare hurt her," Tune told him in a low voice and her umbrella thrust out in front of her like a sword. Riven secretly wanted to squash that pixie like a bug but he knew that wouldn't go down so well, so he simply nodded.

"Good luck," Flora whispered as she brush past him, and then she closed the door, leaving the two teenagers alone in Musa's room.

* * *

_I stole the title from a line from 'She's the Man'. I love Shakespeare (my real name is actually the name of one of his most famous female characters), and I love Twelfth Night most of all, and I think Amanda Bynes rocks my socks so that movie was a dream come true. I loved it. TBC._


	15. Unforgivable and Unforgettable

Riven had to be out of his mind to be considering this. He had argued Helia every step of the way and yet he somehow found himself riding into the grounds of Alfea with the other guys. Riven had almost changed his mind and headed home as soon as they arrived but decided he'd rather not damage his reputation by having his ass kicked by a pacifist. Instead, he did as he was told and went to inform the Winx Club that their dates had arrived and were waiting for them downstairs to give Musa and him some privacy to talk.

He couldn't deny that his hopes didn't sore when he saw the way Musa noticed he was standing in her doorway. Her eyes glowed in delight and a thrilled little smile spread across her lips as she watched him from her place sitting on the edge of her bed. But then she remembered the others were still in the room with them and she dropped her eyes downwards.

When the others left, and awkward silence filled the room and Riven shifted uncomfortably from foot to foot. Why the hell was he so freaked out? She was just a girl! He could do this, could he?

"You look nice," he said, and then he had an overwhelming desire to bang his head hard against the wall. You look nice. What the hell kind of opening was that? Gods, he'd give his right leg for Helia's skill with words right about now.

"Thank you," Musa relied softly. "You look pretty good too."

"Yeah," Riven muttered, rubbing his temple. His headache was coming back. Then he raised his voice to address the girls listening on the other side of the door. "I said you're dates are _downstairs._"

"Sorry," Bloom apologized through the door, and he could hear the sound of heels walking away as well as fast whispering. But something still wasn't right.

"That included you too, Stella," he said sternly.

"Oh my god, he hears like a bat!" Stella exclaimed, following the rest of her friend out to find their dates. Riven shook his head and Musa couldn't help but to grin at him. That made Riven breath a little easier.

"How can you stand it?" he asked, a shy smile tugging at the side of his lips.

"You get used to it after a while," Musa shrugged with a sideways smile. Riven barked a laugh, but then the room fell silent again. Running his hand nervously through his hair, Riven sighed deeply.

"I guess I owe you and apology," he said softly, trying to look at her in the eye, but he couldn't seem to hold it for longer than a second at a time. His guilt was still too strong and it was going to take some time to get past that, regardless of how this meeting went.

"What for?" Musa asked a puzzled look on her face.

"For that whole Darcy thing."

"Oh, that. You didn't know she'd – "

"But I should have," Riven interrupted, looking at her with painful guilt in eyes and this time managing to hold that gaze. "I should have known she would eventually come after you. I should have told everyone that she was lurking around. I . . . I should have known."

"I should have known too. I should have known someone was using magic on me. I mean, we have classes focused on that kind of thing. I guess we really can't blame anyone."

Riven _hmm_ed and went silent for a second. "So, what do we do now?"

Musa suddenly had an un-resistible urge to start chewing her nails, but she kept her hands firmly cradled in her lap. If nothing else, it would mean Stella couldn't yell at her for causing her nail polish to become cracked and flaked. "I dunno. What do you want?"

Riven let out deep sign, crossing the room to crouch down in front of her, running another nervous hand through his hair. Up close Musa saw how tired he looked, and she knew his fatigue was going to make this all the more difficult for him. This was incredibly hard for him to do because he had always tried to keep his feelings and emotions restrained to avoid them overwhelming him. And yet, in order to get fix everything that had happened over the last few weeks, he needed to connect with them, and frankly that terrified him.

"I just want you to be happy," he told her. "And safe. I don't want you to suffer or be hurt on account of me and my mistakes. You don't deserve that. And I know, I've hurt you a lot in the past."

"But – "

"No, I have. For years I've dragged you along and jerked you around. I've toyed with your emotions and I haven't appreciated you the way I should have. I don't know why, but I always seem to mess everything up. And I'm sorry."

"Hey," Musa cooed, reaching out and placing a hand on his shoulder. Her hopes fell slightly when he flinched away from her touch, and she returned her hand to her lap. "I'm sorry too."

"You have no reason to be."

"Yeah I do."

"No you don't."

"Hey, I have just as much right to be as sorry as you," Musa told him, strength in her voice as she tried to hide the smile that was forming on her lips at how stubborn they were both being.

"You didn't do anything," Riven reminded her, only just keeping the jesting tone out of his voice. He loved it when they used to have these little play arguments. He loved the way her attention would be totally fixed on him and the words that they were warring with. He loved the way her eye would burn with that passionate fire and the way she would challenge his every move.

"Stop being such a blame hog."

"I'm not."

"Yes you are. I earned half the blame, I'll get half the credit for it, bucko."

"Bucko?"

"That's right, buddy boy."

"You're impossible."

"I'm sorry."

"Damn it Musa, you have nothing to be sorry about," Riven said, trying to sound severe, but a small amount of laughter managed to creep out in his words.

"Yeah I do," Musa told him, her voice serious despite the fact she was trilled she had gotten him to lighten up a bit. "I freaked out. I made a huge deal out of nothing and my insecurities hurt you. I should have never questioned your fidelity or faithfulness to me. That . . . T-That wasn't fair on you. And I'm so sorry, Riven. I'm so sorry."

"Hey," Riven whispered, hesitantly putting his hand on hers while she wiped her eyes with the other one. "It's alright."

"No it isn't. That was so uncalled for from me. Especially after that whole thing with Jared. And I meant to tell you about him, honestly I did, but I just couldn't find the words. I knew you'd get angry and want to take it out on Jared or something."

"No I wouldn't," Riven lied. Musa gave him a hard look. "Okay, maybe a bit."

"What stopped you?"

"Helia literally had to tie me down," Riven admitted, dropping his head slightly in shame.

"Should I be worried about you two?" Musa couldn't help herself. "I guess I'll have to inform Flora as well."

"Ha ha. Yeah, you're funny," Riven snapped, with a voice dripping with sarcasm. "And I wouldn't have hurt Jared . . . much."

"See, that's why I didn't tell you. Jared's still my friend and totally smitten with his girlfriend. And also because I didn't want to hurt you."

"You couldn't hurt me pixie even if you tried," Riven informed her, and he was rewarded with a punch on his shoulder. "See? Pathetic."

"But I can hurt you Riven," Musa sighed, remembering the hurt in his eyes when she said those things about his family and the way he had been hunched over his bike that night. "That comment about you taking after your family, I – "

"It's nothing," Riven quickly cut her off.

"No, I – "

"Musa, don't. Please," Riven begged, his eyes looking at the ground. He didn't want those wounds from the past affecting him now. He just couldn't deal with his past right now. In fact, he wished he'd never have to deal with it, but he knew that wasn't going to happen. He knew his friends were going to drag it out of him one day – they were annoyingly persistent like that – but he wanted to delay that as long as possible.

"It's just, I'm sorry," Musa cut to the chase. There was no need to drag him through all that now. "Again, I'm sorry for everything. It's just what Darcy put in my head really got to me, you know? I just got so insecure that I was certain you'd get sick of me or bored with me and move on to someone else. And I knew I couldn't stand it if you did but I was too afraid to talk to you and I'm sorry but I'm just not ready to take that next step. It's just me but . . . I just can't."

"I never wanted to seem like I was forcing you to do something you never wanted to do. I was fine waiting for you."

"But, surely you wished our relationship was more then what it is?"

"No."

"Riven."

"_No. _Okay, okay, yes. Yes to a degree. Look . . . I . . . It's . . ." Riven struggled. "I-It's not all I'm looking for in a relationship. Okay? Look, don't get me wrong; that stuffs . . . you know, great, but it's not everything. Am I making any sense or am I just making my self out to look like a jerk again?"

"Shockingly, I think I know were you're coming from," Musa nodded. "But I still obsessed over it for no reason. I got to thinking that your past with Darcy really affected what we had. I had no right to start asking questions about your relationship with her. It wasn't my business."

"But, it was kinda your business. I mean, you were my girlfriend. I shouldn't have gotten so defensive about it all."

Musa nodded slightly, but her mind had gone completely numb. _Were?_ You _were_ my girlfriend? He was talking about their relationship in the past tense! Oh gods, did he not want to fix what they had between them? Did he just want to apologize so they could be friends or at least not be so awkward when they were around the others? Just how badly did she screw everything up?

"Yeah," Musa gasped, a little shell shocked.

"Musa? Are you alright?"

"Sure. Why wouldn't I be?" Musa forced out. "But where does that leave us?"

Riven let out another deep sigh, and Musa felt her heart sink. "Look, all the things I've put you though over the years are . . . unforgivable and unforgettable. I'm not worthy of you and I have no idea why you would even feel anything other then disgust for me. We're worlds apart. I mean, you're a princess and I'm . . . nothing."

"I don't care about thing like that."

"But other people do, you know that's a fact. All I seem to do it get you hurt and I couldn't stand it if something happened to you because of me. I mean, I've been losing my mind the last week because of the danger I put you in with Darcy. I just want you to safe."

"But . . . But . . . But you also said you wanted me to be happy. And I wont be without you," she told him, trying to keep her tears from falling. "Can't you think of one reason why you might want to be with me?"

Riven was silent for the most horrible amount of time, his eyes locked on hers. With each passing second, Musa felt her heart explode into deep levels of pain and anguish. And then, Riven slowly nodded and Musa felt her hope surge powerfully within her.

"Yeah. Musa, I . . . I . . . Gods, I-I . . . I-I-I love you," Riven whispered looking at the ground before mentally kicking himself. Damn it, if he was going to say it he may as well make it sound like he wasn't a coward. Lifting his face to look pointedly in hers, he repeated himself in a much stronger, more certain voice. "I love you."

Musa was a little taken back by Rivens confession. She had wished for so long to hear those words from Riven, but she still couldn't believe it was really happening. It was just so surreal. Musa needed a second to let it seep in. He loved her. He really loved her. She could feel tears start to gather in her eyes, but they were tears of delight. She just couldn't believe it.

It was then Musa realized she was gawking at Riven, who was looking like he was going to be sick as he waited for her to reply.

"Oh Riven, I . . . I love you too."

A smile of pure relief and happiness broke out across Rivens face, and before either of them could think of some sarcastic comment to spoil the moment, Riven rose up and pressed his lips against hers. Musa shuttered in delight at the contact, and it was made all the more intense by the fact that she knew he loved her. He had admitted it to her. He had admitted it to her first. It was like her heart, her emotions and her brain had all gone into overload. And she was loving every minute of it.

Riven was trembling slightly when he pulled back, but for the first time in a week it wasn't due to the aftermath of the Atropa Curse. He had never been as terrified in his life as he had been just uttering those three, simple words. And he quickly discovered they got easier to say each time he said it.

"I love you," he told her again, wrapping his arms around her and kissing every inch of flesh he could get his lips too. "I love you. I love you. I love you."

Musa giggled as she fingered his hair. "I love you too."

Unable to resist, Riven once again pressed his lips to hers and the whole universe seemed to melt away.

* * *

_Aww! How sweet. But honestly, he showed up wearing a suit, people. That means something, doesn't it? Darcy's right, Musa is pretty blind. And yeah, I don't think that there's anything going on between Riven and Helia. That's just a joke we pull on all my guy friends, like calling their best friends their boyfriends. So that whole thing's just mockery. _

_One more chapter to go! Ya-yah! BTC for the last time!_


	16. Epilogue

_Okay, the formal dinner resembles closely to the debutant ball at the end of 'She's the Man', but I don't care. And I'm sure you really don't either? Am I right? Am I right? Yay-yah! _

_Home stretch people! Let's go!

* * *

_

"Princess Bloom, escorted by Prince Sky," Miss Du Four announced and the spot light lit up on the couple who had just stepped out of opposite wings onto the stage. Sky in his dinner suit offered his arm to his girlfriend that was dressed in a pale blue dress and the pair walked across the small platform and descended the stairs to the applause of the crowd. Once they reached the dance floor, they took their allocated spot amongst the couples and turned to watch the entrance of the rest of the girls in their class.

"Any sign of them?" Techna whispered to Bloom as she applauded Ortensia's entrance. The rest of the Winx Clud had already made their entrance and were all waiting for word on wither Riven and Musa would be coming to the dinner.

Bloom shook her head miserably. "No. They weren't in the wings when our names were called."

Flora fiddled with her dress anxiously. "They're nearly through calling the names. What if they don't get here in time?"

"I think what they're trying to sort out is more important than some test," Helia reminded her. They had already asked Miss Du Four to announce Musa last to try and give her and Riven a bit more time.

But that time was quickly running out.

"Miss Priscilla, escorted by Master Hugo," Miss Du Four announced as the second last student she was to announce made the way out onto the stage. The Winx Club and their dates applauded but were anxiously waiting as Miss Du Four pick up the card with the names of the last couple. "Princess Musa, escorted by Master Riven."

Five girls and four boys suddenly had a horrible sinking feeling in their stomachs as the spot light came up and no one made their way onto the stage to fill it. The applause that had started up as a reaction quickly died off, but Miss Du Four kept smiling.

"Princess Musa, escorted by Master Riven," Miss Du Four tried again, never once dropping her cheery disposition. Again the spot light came up, and again none one exited the wings.

"Oh no," Stella moaned, touching her hair out of nervous habit.

"Where are they?" Brandon wondered out loud.

And then, almost as if answering Brandon's question, Musa and Riven stepped out of the opposite wings and met in the spot light. They were both panting; a clear indication that they had probably sprinted all the way from Musa's room to the stage, but they link arms and beamed breathlessly at each other. Applause instantly erupted out of the crowd, and there was no denying who the nine loudest was. By the looks of it, everything had gone well between the two.

"Could you have run any slower?" Riven gasped as he and Musa started to make their way across the stage toward the stairs. The pair had only just remembered the dinner at the last second and had to bolt as fast as they could to get there, and they were still late.

"You try running in heels," Musa challenged.

"Yeah, that's not likely to _ever_ happen."

"And you weren't exactly moving like quicksilver either."

"I've been sick."

"Oh boo hoo," Musa grinned as they made it to the stairs where they were supposed to pause for a second before making their way onto the dance floor with the rest of the couples.

Riven couldn't help but laugh even though he was fully aware that she was making fun of him. He also couldn't help dipping his head and pressing his lips to hers. This display of affected earned them several catcalls and wolf whistles from the crowd, but neither of them really cared. Musa didn't even care that she would probably be marked down for that display. There were some things more important than grades. Even Tune bust into tears of happiness and ignored the breech in etiquette.

Pulling apart, the couple beamed at each other, and then descended to the dance floor. Musa looked ecstatic, and Riven looked indifferently smug. An example of pure happiness, the couple took their position, and the music began.

* * *

"So, everything work out cool?" Brandon asked later that night. DJ Mirage was pumping up the dance floor, but a few of the students had taken a break on the balcony outside. Riven was sitting on the railing since his legs were feeling too weak for him to stand. 

"Yeah man. No sweat," Riven smirked confidently.

Techna rolled her eyes. She had joined the boys in their brief escape while the rest of the Winx Club where on the dance floor. "Can't you just drop your ego for one second?"

"Not if I can help it," Riven grinned. Normally, his friends would be contemplating pushing him off the railing and letting him fall to his doom after such a cocky answer, but they decided to let it go for tonight. Riven had been in an exceptional mood all night which was a welcome change to the way he had been acting all week. He had Musa had been doting on each other all night and making it impossible for anyone to get a proper conversation out of either of them if the object of their affection was within a ten foot radius of them. They had unconsciously participated in hopelessly romantic acts of love, such as eating off the same fork, and Riven had lifted the bar drastically for the other boys.

"Are you going to stay this annoying cheery for long?" Timmy asked. "It's unsettling everything I consider to be normal."

"Oh Timber! You cut me deep," Riven smirked, dramatically clutching his heart.

"So, despite the fact that Rivens gone insane, everything turned out good," Sky answered his original question with a grin. He was un-used to but not exactly disliking this new side of Riven.

"Oh course it did," Musa answered, walking over to the group with the rest of the girls who had just come from the dance floor. She wormed her way in between Rivens legs and rested her back against his chest. He wrapped his arms around her from behind and dropped his face into her hair. "He got me."

"And you got me," Riven beamed down at her. "Aren't you lucky?"

"Excuse me? I think you're the lucky one," Musa shot back and the rest of her friends grinned at the playful banter.

"Why? I'm not the one dating me."

"If you keep carrying on like this I'm going to have to kick your ass."

"As if you could, pixie."

"Or I'll find a way to humiliate you."

"Go ahead," Riven challenged feeling extremely confident. "Seriously, I'd like to see you try."

Musa twisted slightly in his arms so she could look at him. Her eyes were hard, but there was a small smile on her face. But she didn't say anything, and Riven felt extremely please with himself for calling her bluff. But then, she spoke.

"Hey Riven, did Darcy really go down on you in a theatre?"

In all the years Sky had known Riven, he had never seen him blush so red. Everyone else either burst out laughing or flushed themselves. No one had expected Musa to come out with such biting humor with Riven. She had been so shy around him before so it was remarkable how much they had changed. Even Riven didn't go into immediate sulk mode like he normally would have. He let out an embarrassed little laugh but refused to look any of his first in the eye.

"I . . . I . . ." he stammered for a second completely speechless before turning his attention to the fairy that was smiling smugly up at him from between his legs. "I'm very disappointed in you. In fact, it's highly possible I may never forgive you."

"Oh Riven, please forgive me?" Musa pouted, giving him her best puppy dog eyes.

"Never."

"Not even if I do this?" Musa asked, standing on her tippy toes and pecking him on the lips. Riven shook his head no. "Or this?" This time she nibbled slightly on his ear. She got a soft pleasurable groan out of him, but still a no. "What about it I do this?"

And then, like she had watch Darcy do in her dreams, Musa sought out that spot on Rivens neck and bit into the skin, though not as aggressively as she had witnessed Darcy do to him. Riven's reaction was electric. His entire body flinched from her touch but it was not out of pain. His breathing became ragged and Musa heard him moan loudly in her ear before planting a kiss there. Musa silently thanked Darcy for that information and stored it way in her mind to use on a later date.

"Well, I'll think about it," he told her, pulling her tightly into his embrace and dipping his head. When their lips met, Riven deepened the kiss and made it as passionate as he could, and for the first time, he really didn't care that all his friends were watching.

He had Musa, and that's all that mattered to him.

**The End**

* * *

_YAY! All done! No more TBC! Wow! Sixteen chapters! That's my biggest published work so far. Go me! _

_Hey guys, thanx for sticking round and reading my work. I feel like a some foolish actor or something by saying this, but the response I got off you guys made me want to better my work. Seriously, you guys made me go back and take another look at my writting and try and make it as good as I can. You guys rock my socks! _

_I'll catch you guys later. This writing thing's infectious. I_ _got a few more churning around my mind. I gotta work em out a bit 'ay. Oh, by the way, __Pricilla's date, Hugo, is a nod towards Hugo Weaving who played one of the drag queens in 'Pricilla; Queen of the Desert', incase you're wondering._ _Check you later party people. XOXO_


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